


Ratty Corduroy

by huffellepuff



Category: Legally Blonde - Hach/O'Keefe/Benjamin
Genre: Emmett's POV, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-12
Updated: 2018-06-12
Packaged: 2019-05-21 06:22:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 28,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14910017
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/huffellepuff/pseuds/huffellepuff
Summary: Emmett thought nothing at Harvard could really surprise him anymore. And then he met Elle.(The story we all know and love, and then some, from Emmett's perspective)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> 1\. I definitely use direct dialogue from both the Broadway show and the movie, I'm sure you'll know it when you hit it.  
> 2\. I have never been to Harvard, Cambridge, Boston, Massachusetts...and I'm sure it shows to those who have.  
> 3\. The law/trial stuff within is dubious as hell, but if you like Legally Blonde, I'm guessing you're not _too_ picky about that anyway.
> 
> Big shoutout to [cheesethesecond](http://cheesethesecond.tumblr.com) and [baeuswan](http://baeuswan.tumblr.com) on Tumblr for beta'ing and helping me through plot stuff. <3

Emmett always enjoyed the first day that the new law students came to campus. Sure, half of them were basically the same pompous blowhards that had given him such a hard time when he was still in school, but that wasn’t a big deal anymore. He just enjoyed the change in pace. There wasn’t exactly an abundance of optimism around a law school campus, let alone Harvard’s, but on that first day? There was a hell of a lot more.

So when he began his first student orientation group of the day, he expected some excitement and surprises. What he did _not_ expect was Elle Woods. 

“Oh my god, I love your top! It is _so_ fatigue chic,” a voice said from behind him, interrupting the student that was introducing herself. He turned around and, for a moment, could process no more than: _pink_. The woman talking was dressed more like a Barbie doll than anyone he’d ever seen in real life. 

“So, how psyched are you guys? Snaps, first day of Harvard Law!” she continued, and all Emmett - and everyone around him - could manage to do was stare. A small dog popped it’s head out of her purse. “I’m Elle Woods, and this is Bruiser Woods.”

“Enid!” the student she had interrupted called attention back to herself.

“Oh my god, we both have names that start with an E!” Elle said, genuine excitement in her voice. She offered her hand, grinning.

“Oh my god, we’re like practically twins!” Enid squealed, rolling her eyes. She briefly shook Elle’s hand before walking away. 

Elle frowned, and Emmett quickly jumped in, attempting to get the orientation back on track. “We were just going around the circle, tell us something about yourself.”

“Me? Okay. Well, I’m a Gemini with a double Capricorn moon. And I have a Bachelor’s degree from UCLA, where I was Sigma Sweetheart, president of Delta Nu Sorority, and founded the charity Shop For A Cause. Oh, and just last week at Fred Segal, I talked Beyoncé out of buying a truly heinous cable knit tube top. Whoever said tangerine is the new pink is _seriously_ disturbed.”

He found himself at a loss for words, having only understood a small portion of what she said. The words themselves made sense, but he was having trouble grasping them as a whole. Finally, he managed to stutter out, “I did not know that.”

Fortunately, she didn’t seem to mind the tepid response. “Does anyone know where I can find Criminal Law 101 with Professor Callahan and Warner Huntington the Third?”

“Actually we’re all headed there, so I’m sure somebody would be happy to…” he trailed off as he noticed his entire student orientation group had disappeared. “…show you. It’s in Hauser, over there, second building on the left.”

“Thank you.” She smiled. 

“You know, I don’t think dogs are exactly allowed in class.” He couldn’t imagine how Callahan would respond to someone bringing their pet into class and he really didn’t want to find out, especially at this poor woman’s expense.

“Oh, Bruiser’s not a dog, he’s family. I’ll just drop him off at my room, he’d be happier there anyway.” She covered one of the dog’s ears and whispered, “Bruiser loves _Days of Our Lives_. I’ll see you later then!”

He shook his head as he watched her walk away. What was _that_? This was his fourth year at Harvard, between grad school and working for Callahan, and he’d never seen anyone remotely like her around campus. Hell, he was pretty certain no one like her had _ever_ stepped foot here before today. If there even _was_ anyone else like her. 

The walk to Hauser wasn’t long, but it was crowded. He moved within the hustle of students, but could see a pink hat up ahead, pushing through the crowd at a slightly alarming rate. By the time he made it to the classroom, he saw Elle talking to a man that looked incredibly uncomfortable. He wondered if this was the Warner something-or-another that she had mentioned. 

Glancing at the orientation table outside, he noticed that she had not yet grabbed her roster. While he hardly felt the need to baby the new students, she seemed a little…distracted, perhaps, and he figured it wouldn’t hurt to be helpful. 

“This must be yours, Woods Comma Elle,” he said, smiling as he handed her the folder. 

“Is this my social agenda?” she asked.

Emmett laughed before realizing that she was serious. “No, uh, your academic roster.”

“Oh right, there’s that…” She frowned, but quickly went back to a smile as she looked up at the guy next to her, who still seemed as if he’d rather be anywhere else. Emmett didn’t understand how a person could be so dour when someone smiled at them the way Elle did. “Let’s totally catch up after class.” 

He once again found himself watching as she walked away. 

“Who _is_ she?” he asked once she was out of earshot.

“My ex-girlfriend.” The man sighed as he walked to a seat, eyeing Elle cautiously as she - for lack of a better term - flaunted herself in his direction.

This _must_ be the guy she had asked about earlier. Emmett pulled out the class roster Callahan had given him and scanned the names until he found one that sounded right. Warner Huntington III. He had no real idea of what was going on between these two, but it seemed like something he’d do best to stay away from. He’d managed to stay out of petty law school drama while a student, there was no point in getting involved in it now.

Still, he couldn’t help but look back to her several times as he addressed the class. It’s not like pulling out a laptop like everyone else really would have helped her blend in, but a sparkly pink heart notebook with a fuzzy pink pen? He got the sense she wasn’t even using it ironically.

Trying to keep his focus on the class, he began to give them a heads up on what to expect with Callahan. 

“You know, three years ago I was sitting right where you’re sitting, and I heard all the same rumors I’m sure you’ve heard too. Callahan’s ruthless, he bathes in the blood of sheep, blah blah blah. It’s only partly true.” He chuckled at his own joke, gratified to see a few smiles around the room. “But what you really need to know is - “

“You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say _will_ be used against you,” Callahan interrupted as he walked into the room. 

Emmett stepped back and let Callahan do his thing. He’d heard the classic blood in the water speech enough times before - Callahan had done it in Emmett’s first year, both years he had interned/TA’d for him, and this year was no different. He was sure he’d been doing this as long as he had been teaching. It was a little dramatic for Emmett’s taste, but if it got students motivated, then it was fine by him. And as heartless as much of what Callahan said sounded, he wasn’t exactly wrong. The man knew what it took to be a successful lawyer.

Callahan had just been ripping into the other woman from the orientation group, Enid Hoopes, when Emmett saw something out of the corner of his eye. Elle was raising her hand. Callahan turned to her.

“Yes, Ms. uh…”

“Woods, Elle Woods.” She beamed.

“Oh, well someone’s had their morning coffee,” Callahan said, smirking. “Could you summarize the case of State of Indiana v. Hearn from your reading, please.”

“Oh, I wanted to answer the puppy question.”

Emmett’s eyes widened as he looked at Elle, who clearly had no idea what was coming.

“But I’m asking you about the assigned reading.”

“Okay, who assigns reading for the first day of class?” She laughed.

“You have guts, Ms. Woods,” Callahan said, before gesturing to Emmett for the roster. After a glance at the paper, he continued, “Ms. Kensington…” 

A girl with short, dark hair perked up.

“If you were a highly respected teacher, like myself, at one of the top educational institutions in this country, would you let Ms. Woods’ little mistake go?”

Without missing a beat, she replied, “No, I’d throw her out.”

Emmett grimaced. She had said exactly the right thing to impress Callahan and destroy Elle, at least for the moment. He knew all of the students needed the lesson, but it was painful to see it given over such an honest mistake. 

“You heard her, Ms. Woods. Goodbye.” Callahan gestured to the door as Elle packed up her things, owl-eyed. She quickly left the room, avoiding eye contact except for a glance back at Warner.

The class continued in much the same way, until Callahan got into his lecture on the reading. Emmett stepped out and found Elle pacing just outside the door.

“Woods Comma Elle, listen,” he said as he approached her, hoping to offer some level of comfort. “I got kicked out of class once first year too, it’s awful. But trust me, your law career is not over.”

“Law career? So not the problem.” She looked at him as she spoke, but kept glancing back at the door. “Listen, I just need to get back into class with Warner. Can you help me?”

“Yeah,” he said, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Come back tomorrow and make sure you’ve done the reading.”

“Right,” she said, chuckling. She looked over as students began to pour out of the classroom, and called to someone. “Um, excuse me, why would you do that to another girl?”

“Do what?” Ms. Kensington - or Vivienne, according to the roster - replied.

“We girls have to stick together. We can’t try to look good by making each other look bad.” 

“I didn’t make you look bad, _you_ just weren’t prepared. Try opening a law book sometime. Though, I should warn you, they don’t come with pictures,” she said with a smirk.

Emmett cautiously looked back and forth between the two women for a moment before excusing himself. “So I’ll give you ladies a moment then.” 

Callahan was packing up his briefcase when Emmett returned to the classroom. Without looking up, he began to speak. “You know, Emmett, it’s a wonder I ever took you on as an intern, let alone an employee, with that bleeding heart of yours.”

He rolled his eyes. “Checking on the first student of the term to get kicked out of class is hardly a bleeding heart. It’s just basic decency.”

“I guarantee you, that girl won’t make it through the first semester. Encouraging her is merely prolonging the inevitable.”

He thought about what he’d seen from Elle so far and logically, Callahan was probably right. She seemed more interested in her ex-boyfriend than in class, but it was only the first day, so who could really say. There was just something about her that made Emmett feel like she could be truly remarkable, and not just for her wardrobe.

“I don’t know, my gut says that she’s gonna surprise us.”


	2. Chapter 2

The first semester continued on about the way Emmett expected it to. He assisted Callahan on some minor cases - petty divorces between rich jerks, property disputes, and some low-stakes white collar crimes - and sat through far too many classes he’d already taken _and_ TA’d for. At least this way he’d never forget the basics. 

In the midst of the work hard, work hard routine that he was so used to, there was one thing that took an inordinate amount of his attention: Elle Woods. He’d seen countless students get kicked out of Callahan’s class over the years, but he’d never seen a single student manage it so _often_. It seemed near daily that she was asked to leave due to a lack of preparation, and he was pretty sure that the only reason it wasn’t actually everyday was that Callahan sometimes chose to ignore her. It just didn’t make sense. Not only did she come to every single class without having read a word of the textbook, but she did so with a smile. She smiled as she entered the room, she smiled as she was kicked out of it. It took a lot of confidence to face Callahan like that day after day. He frankly couldn’t decide if it was something to be admired or pitied.

The thing was, she seemed intelligent. He had assisted in a handful of small group discussions that she’d been a part of and, as long as her ex wasn’t around, her answers were clever and insightful (if not necessarily well informed). When Warner was part of the groups, though, she seemed wholly occupied in getting his attention. Why she cared so much about his opinion, Emmett couldn’t guess. Warner Huntington III was just like every other Harvard legacy student: rich, boring, and just competent enough that people wouldn’t care _too_ much when he inherited his professional status rather than truly working for it. Anyway, the whole situation wasn’t quite fascinating, just…curious. 

Other than that, though, the semester remained pretty unremarkable until one night in late October when Emmett was walking home. It was starting to get seriously chilly out, but he still couldn’t quite justify driving when he only lived a mile or so away. Plus, the walk was a nice way to clear his head after spending hours helping Callahan grade assignments. As it was the Friday before Halloween, he saw more than a few people out in costumes, but still stopped in his tracks when he came across a very distraught looking bunny. Elle was sitting on a bench, more miserable than he’d ever seen her.

“Whoa, Elle, what’s up?” he asked, pausing briefly before adding, “…doc?”

He had hoped the joke might make her crack a smile, but she barely even seemed to register his comment. She turned to him, frowning. 

“Love.” 

“Excuse me?”

“I put my faith in love, I followed where it led…”

“Love led you here?”

“To my personal circle of _hell_ ,” she said gesturing to the campus around her. “But it hasn’t worked. I was supposed to marry him! Instead, I’m flunking out of class, just asking to be mocked by him and his stupid preppy friends! God, I’d rather be dead.”

“Wait a minute,” he said, trying to process what she just said. While he _had_ noticed she cared more about Warner than her studies, he never seriously considered that that was _why_ she was here. “You came here - to _Harvard Law_ \- to follow a _man_? What rich, romantic planet are you from?”

“Malibu,” she answered weakly.

“Instead of, I don’t know, tanning or whatever it is you’d normally be doing, you stalked a guy all the way to an Ivy League school? That is the weirdest reason I’ve ever -”

“Well, why’d you come?” she interrupted, a challenge in her voice.

He paused for a moment, debating how much he felt like sharing with this absurd, privileged girl. But something told him to stay, and so he sat next to the shivering Playboy bunny.

“Okay,” he began, taking off his hoodie and draping it around her shoulders. He wasn’t exactly warm, but she looked freezing. “I grew up in the slums of Roxbury with my mom and a series of her worthless boyfriends, all of whom were complete failures. I knew I wanted more in my life, so I worked my ass off to get here - I had a full-time class schedule _and_ two jobs. So, forgive me for not weeping at your tale.”

He glanced at her bunny costume as he spoke. 

She rolled her eyes. “Excuse me, just because you’ve got some kind of chip on your shoulder…”

“You know what? You’re right. I do, a giant one. I don’t have the money, the family, or the connections that most people here have. But I’ve been given a chance, so I’m not going to waste that. I’m _so_ close to reaching my goals. And if I managed to get here because of a chip on my shoulder, fine. You might wanna get one as well.”

“That sounds highly negative,” she said, frowning. 

“Hey, I’m just being honest. When you weren’t born into privilege, you gotta work twice as hard.” He stood up, intending to continue his walk home. No point in staying to defend himself when he wasn’t even sure why he told her all that in the first place. He glanced back at her and added, “And I want that sweatshirt back.”

“Wait!” she called. He stopped and turned to see her going after him. “Two jobs _plus_ law school?”

“I haven’t slept since 1998.”

She giggled and he couldn’t help but to smile in return.

“But seriously, how do you do it?” 

“Well, I don’t go out and party, it’s a waste of time. Fitness and fashion aren’t exactly high priorities for me either,” he said, nodding at her perfectly coiffed hair. “But it’s all gonna be worth it once I win my first lucrative trial and I can buy my mom a new house, a big one out on the cape.”

“That’s so sweet!”

“No, that’s determination. When I left for college - after working my ass off through high school for scholarships, mind you - I told my mom that I wouldn’t waste this opportunity, and I’m sticking to it. Sure, maybe I can’t take a day off right now, but it’ll all be worth it later. You need to get that drive.”

“I just need to prove to everyone that I’m serious.”

“What you _need_ is to get to _work_ ,” he said, rolling his eyes.

She stopped walking and sighed. “Okay, _maybe_ you have a point. Can you help me? Like, for real?”

He considered her for a moment. Technically, he’d already given her some advice that she’d totally rebuffed, but still. She seemed sincere.

“I’ll help -”

“Yes!” she squealed, clapping.

“ _But_ ,” he continued, “you have to take it seriously. I’m not gonna sugar coat it. We’re talking Harvard Law School here, not America’s Next Top Model.”

“If you don’t think America’s Next Top Model is serious, then I’m not the only one with something to learn,” she said, pointing at him. “But yes, I’ll take it seriously. Be as tough on me as you need to be. It’s not exactly like you were going easy on me just now, anyway.”

Emmett felt a little sheepish. “Sorry, I was just…caught off guard by this entire conversation, to be quite honest. I get a little defensive around this topic, since basically everything I do is a defense of my right to even be here.”

“Fair enough.”

“So…” He smiled at her. “I think we may have a deal.”

“Thank you, Emmett,” she said, beaming at him. “Okay, let’s get started!”

“Right now?” He raised an eyebrow at her, again glancing at the bunny costume.

She looked down and laughed. “Maybe after I change. I just live a couple of blocks from here, come on.”

He chuckled as he followed Elle in the direction of student housing. This night certainly wasn’t going the way he had expected it to. When they reached the residence hall, he was not in the least surprised to find the door to her dorm was covered in various pink adornments. He hadn’t, however, prepared himself for the amount of pink that would greet him when he walked in.

“Make yourself at home,” she said, giving him a smile before going into the bathroom to change.

“Hello…kitty,” he muttered, unable to fully process the room. He resisted making a comment about whether that much bright pink made it hard to sleep at night, turning his focus instead to a shelf with an alarming number of Red Bull cans. “You drink a lot of Red Bull, don’t you?”

“It gives me energy!” she hollered from the other side of the door. 

“For when you’re up late studying?”

“Huh?” 

“I said studying…” He trailed off as he looked around the room and noticed a distinct lack of textbooks. “You…do study, don’t you? Where are those law books?”

“They’re under the…” 

“Under the…?” 

“The pile of…” she said, looking around as she walked back into the room.

“Pile of…?”

“There,” she said, removing a pile of clothing to reveal a fashion magazine. He picked it up and raised an eyebrow at her, and she at least had the decency to look embarrassed. “I know they’re here somewhere.”

“You know, this is a real cute setup you’ve got here, but this table is meant to be a _desk_. Clear this off, make some room for your _books_. Can you live without these things?” He began throwing miscellaneous items in the hamper next to the desk - a scarf, magazines, bottles of hair product, and some strange plastic item that looked like it belonged in a sci-fi movie. He lifted it up. “I don’t even know what this is.”

“It’s for hair,” she said, glaring at him as she moved the hamper out of reach.

“Wear a hat,” he said simply, clearing more items of off the desk. “Oh, my god, there is so much stuff in here. You can’t possibly need all of this. No wonder you can’t find your books.”

She groaned, shooting him another glare.

“Ooh, the room just got colder.”

She turned away from him to continue searching for her book, but he caught her smirking.

“Aha, found it!” She held the book up triumphantly, and Emmett was dismayed to see it was still covered in plastic. She handed it to him and he unwrapped it.

“Been reading it hard, I see.” 

“I’ve just been…” she began.

Emmett held up a hand to stop her. “Excuses won’t get you anywhere, Woods Comma Elle. What’s done is done, but now it’s time to get to work. Start reading.”

She sighed as she took the book back from him and plopped into the chair at the desk. “Do you know what pages I’m supposed to read?”

“Fortunately for you, I have the syllabus with me.” He dug into his bag, wondering what the hell he’d gotten himself into.


	3. Chapter 3

Over the next four weeks, Emmett suspected he was spending more waking hours in the dorms than he had when he actually lived in them. Thankfully, Elle was a quick study. Once she actually opened her books, she seemed to grasp the concepts and retain the information, for the most part. She wasn’t a star law student by any means, but the amount of work she caught up on in a month was truly impressive. Not that he’d be telling her that, at least not anytime soon - he couldn’t let her get complacent. But man, he had to wonder what she could accomplish if she were actually motivated by becoming a lawyer, rather than just impressing a guy.

“Bye Warner! Happy Thanksgiving!” Elle called, leaning out of the doorway and waving with a slightly maniacal grin on her face. “Say hi to your mom and dad for me! And Grandma Bootsy!”

“Is this my second or third?” Emmett asked, ignoring her calls to Warner and taking another swig of his Red Bull, of which his love for was an unanticipated side effect of studying with Elle. “I don’t know, but I am _loving_ it!”

Elle smiled and rolled her eyes at him.

“Define malum prohibitum,” he said, continuing his quiz now that she’d finished her fawning in the doorway.

“Malum prohibitum, is, um…” she said, biting her lip as she thought. 

“An act prohibited - ” he prompted.

“An act prohibited by law, like jaywalking or chewing gum in Singapore!”

“Therefore malum in se means…”

“An action that is evil in itself: assault, murder, white shoes after labor day.” She grinned proudly.

“Good,” he said, laughing. While fashion certainly was not a pneumonic device likely to help him, he enjoyed hearing how it helped her. He was about to quiz her on the next term, but stopped when he saw her place Bruiser in his carrier bag. “Where are you going?’

“Home, of course. It’s Thanksgiving break, remember?”

“Interesting.” 

“What?” she asked, glancing at him warily.

“Well, I predict that you’re gonna pass - ” he began.

“Yes!” She pumped her fist, and Emmett had to restrain a smile as he continued.

“But barely, and well below your classmates.”

“What?” The fist pumping over, she looked deflated.

“I mean, if you’re going for mediocre…congrats, you did it!”

“That’s not fair.” 

“Look, Elle. You’re not gonna impress anybody by just knowing the basics. They think you’re a joke, just like they thought I was a joke. To succeed, you gotta _keep pushing_. So you might want to put off that vacation.”

She sighed, taking Bruiser back out of the bag. “Why do you always have to be right?”

He shrugged. “It’s a gift.”

“An annoying gift.” She poked him in the shoulder as she walked by. Looking longingly at the door, she said, “I mean, we do have to take a break _some_ time though.”

“And do what?”

“I don’t know, walk? Grab a bite to eat? I’m not gonna suggest anything as scandalous as going to a movie or something,” she said, glancing at him with a smirk. “But it’s been hours. I - _we_ \- need to do something else.”

His stomach gave a traitorous gurgle and Elle smiled victoriously. 

“I guess eating might be a good idea,” he conceded. “Maybe the dining hall is still open…”

“Dining hall?” She gave him a pitying look. “No, we’re going _off_ -campus. Some place with real food, like a restaurant.”

“A restaurant?”

“Yes, you have been to one of those, right?”

He rolled his eyes. “I just mean that restaurants take an awfully long time.”

“Exactly! And it’s not like you won’t still be quizzing me, I know you’ve got all of these dumb terms and definitions down pat, you don’t even need the book. But you’ll be quizzing me somewhere other than this room, with delicious food in front of us. How does Thai sound?”

 

\---

 

Despite Elle’s assurances that he’d still be quizzing her at the restaurant, their conversation moved beyond law school for once. It moved so smoothly, in fact, that it kinda caught him off guard. Socializing was never something that came particularly easily to him, so his ability to talk so casually with Elle was surprising. Lecturing on academic responsibility and legal terms was one thing, swapping personal anecdotes was a whole other. But somehow, he felt comfortable around her. Whether that was a by-product of the hours spent together in an academic context or just the magic of Elle Woods (he suspected the latter), they talked like they’d known each other for years. 

“Omigod, he _sang_?” Elle squealed, laughing as he recounted the time one of his mom’s boyfriends had given him ‘the talk.’

“I still cringe if I hear ‘Do Your Ears Hang Low?’ Thankfully, though, one doesn’t hear it so often once they hit adulthood.” He grinned, watching her wipe tears of laughter from her eyes.

“Yeah, it’s not exactly a top 40 hit,” she said, still smiling back at him. “Aren’t you glad we took a study break?”

“I am _thrilled_ that I had reason to relive that particular memory,” he said, attempting a deadpan delivery but unable to stop smiling. “But, yes, I am glad.”

“Good. You deserved a break, too. Thanks for all you’re doing, Emmett.” She placed her hand on his and gave it a quick squeeze. Emmett felt a tug in his chest at the contact. All of the studying and laughing was clearly leaving him feeling a little bit punch drunk. She withdrew her hand and tucked her hair behind her ear.

“You’re welcome. Now, isn’t about time to head back and keep working?”

 

\---

 

On Thanksgiving, Emmett arrived early to his mom’s house. He wasn’t used to having a car yet, a purchase he’d only made after being hired by Callahan, and tended to leave at least thirty minutes earlier than he really needed to. She was standing at the stove when he walked in.

“Hey, mom,” he said, coming over and giving her a quick hug.

“You’re early!” She smiled at him, but then her eyes widened. “Get out of the kitchen.”

“Mom, are you -”

“I don’t need any of your bad luck in here, mister, go to the living room and let me be.”

He rolled his eyes. “You burn one turkey…”

“Out,” she said, pointing to the doorway. “Go set the table.”

When Emmett was in high school, he was determined to start contributing more to the household. That, of course, included Thanksgiving dinner. The first year, he helped pay for it _and_ tried to help cook. One black turkey later and his mom would never let him live it down. He wasn’t even allowed to bake the rolls from a can. Fortunately, they’d worked out a comfortable system: he paid for the food, she prepared it. 

As he grabbed a stack of plates, he asked his mom, “Is it just us this year or is Rick coming?”

“Just us,” she said, her voice clipped. Rick was his mom’s on-again, off-again boyfriend for the last few years. He was a huge improvement over anyone she’d dated in the last, oh, twenty or thirty years, but they couldn’t seem to make up their mind about each other. Sounds like they were currently off.

“Got it.”

He walked into the living room (slash-dining room, slash-spare bedroom) and started setting up the plates on the small table in the corner. It seemed a little excessive, in his mind, to set the table when they’d be going back to the kitchen to serve the food buffet-style, but his mom liked it. Tradition was tradition.

“Did you bring anything bubbly to drink?” she asked as she walked into the room, holding two champagne flutes.

“You betcha.” He held up the bottle of sparkling cider he had brought with him. 

“Responsible as ever,” she said with a sigh, taking the bottle from him to put in the fridge. 

He shrugged. “I’ve gotta drive home after this.”

After setting the table, he began to tidy up things around the living room. The house wasn’t even _that_ messy, it was just...lived in. And habit kicked in whenever he was home, so he began doing his old chores as if he was a kid. Put books away, clear stuff out from under the couch, straighten out the rug, that kind of stuff.

By the time he finished, the food was done and he was more than ready to dig in.

“So, how is work going?” his mom asked as they sat at the table.

“Fine,” he replied through a mouthful of mashed potatoes. She shot him a look and he finished chewing. “Sorry. It’s going fine. It’s with Callahan, so it’s not really all that different. I’m just not being graded the same way and I’m actually getting paid.”

“He must be working you hard, I feel like I talk to you less now that you’re working one job than I did when you were working ten.”

“It wasn’t _ten_ jobs, mom.”

“Whatever, it felt like it. What’s he got you doing that’s taking up so much time?”

“The same kind of stuff as before, really,” he said, debating whether to tell her about tutoring Elle. Maybe if he kept it vague she wouldn’t read into it, like she reads into _everything_. “And I’ve been doing some tutoring in the side, that’s taken up a lot of my extra time.”

She frowned. “Emmett, you have a real career now. You don’t have to keep taking extra jobs. The whole point of working so hard then was so you could maybe breathe a little later. It’s later.”

“Oh, it’s not a job, I’m just helping her out.” As soon as the word ‘her’ left his mouth, he saw his mother’s eyes light up. Crap.

“ _Her_?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. “Doing a little, uh, pro _bono_ work?”

“Mom!” He knew he was blushing at the innuendo - whose mother made comments like that to their child, honestly? - but he still had to try and gain some control of the situation. “She’s just a law student in need.”

“Honey, they’re all in need, they picked a difficult profession in a ridiculously difficult school. But you’ve never taken on free tutoring for one before.”

“She’s just…she’s different. I’ve never seen anyone like her at Harvard,” he said, realizing as he spoke that it still sounded like he had a crush. “She reminds me of me. Not that she’s on scholarships or awkward or anything like that, but she’s different than the other students. She stands out, she gets judged, and she has to work harder to get the same respect that her peers get just by being from old money families. I can relate.”

“What’s her name?” 

“Elle Woods.” He noticed a small smirk on his mom’s face and realized he’d made a mistake. 

“I’ll be right back,” she said, standing up and walking over to the computer.

“No, mom, are you serious? Are you seriously about to Google her?”

“Of course not!” she protested, attempting a sober face but breaking into a grin. “I was just gonna check MySpace.”

“How do you even know what MySpace is?” He sighed. He didn’t have any online social media, but of course his mother would. 

She gasped as she found Elle’s profile. Emmett glanced over and was not surprised to see an honest-to-god professional headshot on her page. “Oh my god, Emmett, is this her?”

“Yes, that’s her, now will you please come back and eat?”

“She’s a total bombshell, no wonder you’re so smitten,” she said, grinning at him.

“I’m not smitten. I’m just helping.”

His mom began scrolling through her profile. “So you’re telling me this girl - this beautiful, blonde, rich, prom queen kinda girl - is an underdog? And that’s why you’re helping her?”

“On the Harvard campus, yeah, she is. People think she’s a joke.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Mom, seriously. It’s just tutoring. Even if I _was_ interested in her - which I most certainly am not - she’s still into her ex,” he said, pointedly. It had never even occurred to him to be interested in her romantically, to be honest. She was just…Elle. 

“I’m just saying, Emmett, I haven’t seen you so much as mention a girl since Cassandra, and God knows how long it was before her that you’d dated anybody.”

“Haven’t exactly had the time, mom.” The conversation was not supposed to veer into the territory of ex-girlfriends. Maybe it was karma for mentioning Rick earlier.

“But you do now…”

“Elle and I are barely even friends. Can we please drop this?” 

“Fine, I’ll drop it,” she said, but still looked skeptical.

 

\---

 

The rest of the day passed rather uneventfully, thank god. His mom stayed true to her word and didn’t bring up Elle again. It wasn’t that the idea of him and Elle as a couple was awful or something, it was just so far from reality that he didn’t want his mom getting her hopes up. He was grateful that Elle had made plans with Paulette for the day, because he had been intending to invite her - less because it was good idea, more because he felt guilty for convincing her not to go home for the break. He couldn’t even imagine how his mom would have responded if he’d brought her to dinner.

Around 6 o’clock, he received a text message from Elle:

**Studying tonite?**

He had assumed they would take the day off, but if she was game to study, he didn’t see why not. He fumbled with his phone, unused to texting - he was wary enough of using his minutes, let alone the tiny text messaging package that came with his plan - but managed to reply.

**Sure**

“Hey mom, I’ve gotta get going soon,” he said as he helped pack up the leftovers. “Do you mind if I take an extra pie?”

“Of course, help yourself, but remember to refrigerate it, unless you’ll be eating the whole thing in the next day or so.”

“I’m actually gonna share it.” 

She smirked. “And whom will you be sharing it with?”

“I feel like you know the answer,” he said. “Elle stayed in town over the break so that she could keep working, so I thought it’d be nice to bring her something homemade. I think she went to one of those restaurant dinners tonight.”

“She stayed home to study?” She laughed and patted his head. “You really are teaching her all your tricks, aren’t you? Poor girl.”

“Rude.” He ducked out from her under her hand. 

“Well, tell Elle I said hello. I’m sure I’ll be meeting her someday.” 

“Will do, but, no, you won’t.” He smiled and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “See you later, mom.”

 

\---

 

When he got back to Cambridge, he went straight to Elle’s. The leftovers he was taking home would be fine in the cold car, but he brought up a pumpkin pie and a small tub of whipped cream. He wasn’t at all sure she’d be interested, but he wanted to at least offer. He knocked on the door and was soon greeted by a beaming Elle, who was wearing sweatpants and the sweatshirt he had “loaned” her back on Halloween (he’d have to remember to get that back one of these days). Good to know even Elle Woods dressed down a little post-holiday meal.

“Happy Thanksgiving!” She let him in, then spotted the pie. “Oh my god, is that pumpkin pie?”

“Homemade by my mom, thought you might like some.”

“Of course I would!” She took the pie from him and brought it to the desk. “Let me find some plates.”

“How was your dinner with Paulette?” 

“It was good! The food was delicious, but they didn’t have pie, which is absurd. It’s like you read my mind, bringing this here.” 

“No pie? If that’s what fancy restaurants are like, I want no part of it.”

“Right?” She laughed. “So, thank you for bringing this. Need some sugar to fuel up for studying.”

“Well, I’ll pass the thanks on to my mom, she’s the one who made it. She told me to tell you hello, by the way.”

“Tell her hi back! How sweet of her.” Elle served herself some pie and took a bite, a look of ecstasy on her face. “No, wait, don’t just tell her hi, tell her this is the most amazing pumpkin pie I have ever eaten.”

“She’ll be happy to hear it.” He pulled out one of the law books. “Now, where’d we leave off…Miranda v. Arizona?”

“Miranda, right!” She paused. “Get it, like, Miranda rights?”

He laughed, her excitement about her joke funnier than the joke itself. “You got it.”

They spent the next couple hours polishing off half of the pie and discussing the ins and outs of various landmark cases. All in all, he thought, it probably ranked as one of the best Thanksgivings he’d had.


	4. Chapter 4

It wasn’t long before Emmett began to feel confident in calling Elle his friend. One of his best friends, honestly, which kind of blew his mind. They still spent a _lot_ of time working, but the frequency of hang out breaks seemed to be increasing. While he’d had casual friends throughout school, he was rarely all that close to anybody, yet somehow things with him and Elle just clicked. 

And apparently, she felt the same way, which was just as surprising. In the middle of a study session one day, she said, “We need a secret handshake.”

He couldn’t help but laugh. “A what now?”

“A secret handshake, duh.” 

“Will that be like our password to get into our secret clubhouse?”

She rolled her eyes. “It’s just a fun thing to do with your besties.”

“Am I, uh, one of your besties then?” he asked, sure a blush was starting to creep up his face.

“Duh, of course you are!” She slapped his arm playfully and grinned at him. “Most of my other besties are Delta Nus, so we basically have handshakes built in, but you and I need to come up with our own.”

He’d never even had a secret handshake with his best friend as a kid, so the idea of developing one as an adult should’ve been absurd, but something about her made him not care. He grinned back at her. “Okay, fine, so how do we do this?” 

They spent the next half hour trying different variations of handshakes, high fives, snaps, and weird finger gestures, and he couldn’t remember the last time he’d laughed so hard.

“Okay, okay, I think I got it,” he said, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes before reaching out to try the handshake again. “So we clasp hands, pull back, loop around, and finger hook?”

“You got it!” She beamed at him, her smile so bright it almost made his heart hurt. Just then, her phone began ringing. “Oh, it’s my mom, I should probably take this. She isn’t exactly psyched about me staying at school for break.”

He nodded. “I should probably get going anyway, I’ve got some work to finish up.”

She smiled at him as she answered the phone. “Hi, Mom!”

He started to wave goodbye, but she quickly jumped in for one last handshake. She gave him a thumbs up and mouthed what looked like “nice job” before waving goodbye.

As he left the dorm, he was torn between that pure happiness that came just from being around Elle and some nagging guilt that she was choosing to stay back over the break. He hadn’t even told her to this time, but he didn’t exactly try to dissuade her, either. After all, she was finally completely caught up to where she was supposed to be, and she _wanted_ to go further. He loved that she wasn’t satisfied with being average - not that she was _actually_ average, but her grades currently were. With the couple of weeks all of her peers would spend skiing and whatever else rich people did for the holidays, she’d have a chance to get _way_ ahead of them. She was brilliant enough, really, that he was pretty sure she’d end up there anyway - but a headstart never hurt anyone.

Still, the guilt was there. Maybe he could get her a present? Just a little something to show that he recognized the sacrifice she was making. The only issue with that idea, though, was that he had _no_ idea what to get her. What did one get for their best friend that was a complete stranger only a few months ago? Especially when that friend seemed to already _have_ everything she could want (except for Warner, at least). Every time he’d seen her mention something she wanted, she seemed to get it within a few days. Books, movies, clothing, whatever. And it’s not like he could actually _guess_ at something she’d like - they were close, yeah, but not close enough that he felt confident in his “I saw this and thought of you” gift giving skills. 

After some thought, he realized: if she already had everything she _wanted_ , the best choice would probably be to get her something she _needed_. And, given that the amount of time she spent on her hair was still a discussion between them, he knew she went through a _lot_ of hair products. Seemed like as reasonable of an idea as any.

He walked to a nearby drugstore that he knew had a decent selection, but as soon as he entered the aisle, he realized he was in _way_ over his head. He had hoped he’d recognize one of the bottles as something he’d seen in her room, but that idea seemed laughable now that he was faced with all of these choices. He hadn’t fully realized just how many different products existed, as his experience with hair products was limited to finding whatever was cheapest and easiest. But there were shampoos, conditioners, cleansers (wasn’t that just shampoo?), serums, gels, mousse, sprays, creams...even things that sounded like food - custard, souffle, smoothies. And then each of these existed for all different hair types - which wasn’t even helpful, given that he’d seen her hair both straight and curly and didn’t actually know what it did naturally. 

Then there were the prices. He never spent more than a couple bucks on this stuff, but some had tiny little bottles for over $20. That seemed impossible...there’s no way someone would pay _that much_ for shampoo when they could get four times as much for under $5, right? 

His eyes scanned the shelves, still hoping that he’d find _something_ familiar. Unfortunately, the only thing he could recognize with 100% certainty was the same thing he bought for himself: a shampoo/conditioner that he could usually find on a good sale. Which, honestly, wasn’t that bad of an idea. She could certainly save some time this way - he once heard her say it took her _fifteen minutes_ just to wash and condition her hair, whereas he usually took a whole shower in five. Ten minutes every morning could really add up.

It came in a few different scents, so he opened them up to see which one seemed like the best fit. The one he used had a pretty typical cologne smell, another was floral, but the last one was sort of a sugary scent that reminded him of her. She always kinda smelled like baked goods - as if just being herself wasn’t appealing enough, she had to go and remind people of a cookie. He looked more closely at the bottle and laughed - it was sugar cookie scented. Perfect.

 

\---

 

On the first day of winter break, he decided it was the right time to give her the gift, since she’d most likely need some cheering up. They had their usual study session planned, so he quickly wrapped it before heading out the door. When he got to her dorm, he found a woman - he assumed it was the much spoke of Paulette - quizzing Elle on significant cases. He knocked on the doorway before entering. 

“Ho, ho, ho!” he said in his best Santa voice.

“Emmett!” She grinned and gestured to her friend. “This is my friend, Paulette.”

“Hi,” he said, waving.

“Hey there.” She waved back and, if he wasn’t mistaken, gave him a quick once over.

“For you,” he said, turning to Elle and handing her the gift. “Not quite as good as going home for Christmas, but…”

“You are _too_ sweet.” 

“It’s a real timesaver! Shampoo and conditioner in one.”

She squealed strangely and grinned at him.

“Hair care? I love this guy!” Paulette gave him another appraising look as she walked past him. “So…I’ll just leave the two of you alone, then.”

Elle’s eyes widened as she looked at Paulette for a moment, so Emmett turned to see. But Paulette just smiled and said, “I’ll see you later, Elle. It was great meeting you, Emmett.”

“Thank you,” Elle said, looking back at Emmett. “You are so adorable to think of me.”

Then she gave him a hug - something that, as close as they’d been getting, had not happened before. It caught him off guard, and just when he remembered how to move his arms and hug her back like a normal human, the door opened again and she jumped back from him. She stood in a strange pose, hand in her hair and a vacant look on her face. Emmett turned and saw the cause of her sudden change in behavior: Warner.

“Elle, hey, have you seen Vivienne?” he asked, having come in without so much as a knock. “I’ve been looking for her everywhere.”

“Hmm, um, yeah…” Elle mumbled. “I mean, no.”

“Great, we’re gonna miss our flight,” Warner said, stomping out of the room.

Emmett waved, not that Warner had bothered to acknowledge him whatsoever. 

When he looked back at Elle, she hadn’t moved from the weird pose. 

“Elle?” he asked, waving a hand in front of her face to get her attention. “Earth to Elle.”

“Huh?” she said, her hand slowly falling from her hair.

“Can I be real with you for a moment?”

She looked at him, confused. “Real?”

“Yeah. I don’t know if you realized what just happened, but as soon as Warner walked into the room, your brain seemed to just…disappear.” 

Finally, she seemed to focus on what he was saying. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that you basically lost the power of speech just now, all because he asked you where his girlfriend was. Do you think that maybe, just maybe…the thing stopping you from winning him back is, well, him?”

She sunk down onto the bed, lost in thought. After a moment she looked up at Emmett and laughed. “You’re right.”

“I am?” He was surprised she had taken it that well.

“Yes! I’ve been sucking up to him and that’s done _nothing_ for me. No more sweet, simpering Elle - it’s time to show him I’m just as good as he is. No, I’m _better_.” She jumped up off the bed, a dazzling smile on her face. “Let’s kick some ass.”

Emmett’s face almost hurt from how hard he was grinning because it seemed like she might finally _get it_. She was capable of so much more than that bore Warner, and maybe she was starting to see it. She grabbed her computer bag and a jacket, and with a quick secret handshake, they were out the door and off to the library.

 

\---

 

Though Elle was free from classes over winter break, Emmett still had a job to do. He mostly saw her in the evenings, just like he did when she was in school, but given her additional time, his phone seemed to be getting a constant stream of texts. The amazing thing is that they weren’t even questions, just little comments she had about the assignments or various law-related things she’d learned, or sometimes even just things about her day.

**Ruth bader ginsburg is so awesome!**

**Cant believe we havent talked more about her impact**

**I wonder if the lawyers that won the various suits that require safety labels on products smile when they see caution: hot or whatever**

**I just saw bruisers twin at the park!!**

**Wonder if anyone has ever sued over bad fashion advice**

**Honestly though why dont we have more women on the supreme court??? We need to change that.**

**Dying for some egg rolls, can you pick up some chinese takeout before you come over tonight?**

Emmett was starting to see the appeal of carrying a cell phone everywhere. 

By the time break ended, it was like a new Elle Woods had appeared. She’d always been quite sure of herself, but it was like the last pieces of insecurity were starting to come off and all that remained was brilliant confidence. _Earned_ confidence. He could see it written all over her as she walked into class on the first day back, and he wondered how everyone else wasn’t staring in awe. Even more remarkable, he couldn’t help but think, was that she barely even glanced at Warner. It wasn’t until he was participating in a class discussion that she stayed focused on him for more than a moment.

“Mr. Lattimer wasn’t stalking. He was clearly within his rights to ask for visitation. Russell v. Sullivan…” Warner argued.

“But Russell was known to the mother, Lattimer was an anonymous donor,” Callahan replied.

“Well, yeah, but without Mr. Lattimer’s sperm, the child in question would not exist.”

Emmett glanced at Elle, who was frowning.

“Now you’re thinking like a lawyer.”

Various classmates went to high-five Warner. Elle, however, raised her hand.

“Yes, Ms. Woods?” 

“Mr. Huntington makes an excellent point, but did the defendant keep a log of every sperm emission made throughout his life?” she asked, smiling.

The room broke out in snickering, but Elle stayed strong.

“Interesting, why do you ask?”

“Well, unless the defendant attempted to contact every sexual encounter to see if a child resulted from those unions, he has no parental claim over this child whatsoever. Why now? Why _this_ sperm?”

“I see your point.”

“ _And_ by Mr. Huntington’s standards, all masturbatory emissions where the sperm was clearly _not_ seeking an egg could be called reckless abandonment.”

Callahan smiled. “Ms. Woods, you just won your case.”

Emmett grinned as he saw the look of shock and joy on her face. She had never looked more beautiful than when completely annihilating her stupid ex. The look on Warner’s face, too, was priceless. 

“Class dismissed,” Callahan said, keeping his eyes on Elle. “Ms. Woods, excellent work today. I assume you’re applying for my internship, do you have a resume?”

“I’m one step ahead of you,” she said, pulling out her pink resume. They had worked on it for hours over the break, but he hadn’t known she’d opted to print on pink - though he really, really should have. “Thanks in advance for your consideration.”

She gave Emmett a quick, excited smile before walking away. He watched as she paused briefly in front of Warner, and he was thrilled to see that there was no attempt to suck up to him, only a confident grin and a shrug before moving on.

When he turned back to Callahan, he saw him sniffing the resume.

“Dear God,” Callahan laughed. “It’s scented. Three months ago, I would’ve recycled this. Make sure to put it on file.”

Emmett took the resume and sniffed it. Appropriately, it smelled like her perfume. He put it in his bag with the other, boring, non-scented resumes of internship applicants, and began the walk to the office, all the while thinking about what he had just witnessed. The same Elle Woods that got kicked out of class every day was now _asked_ to apply by Callahan. She had just kicked her ex-boyfriend’s ass, figuratively speaking, and seemed over the moon about it. 

He had to wonder if she really did still have strong feelings for Warner. Sure, it seemed like it sometimes, but in the last few weeks since she realized how much he was holding her back, she barely even spoke about him. And then what she did today…either she was a phenomenal actress, or she didn’t care as much about him as she said she did. He really, really hoped it was the latter. She deserved so much better than that pompous jerk.

Once he arrived at Callahan’s building, he took the small pile of resumes and filed them in the office. He _knew_ Elle was going to get that internship. And when she did, they’d probably end up spending even more time together. If he wasn’t careful, she’d be surpassing _him_ too. And you know what? He’d be happy for her when she did.


	5. Chapter 5

“Hey, Emmett?” Elle asked, her voice a little off from it’s usual bright tone.

“Yeah?” 

“I have a favor to ask you…”

“Is that all? You sound so somber, I was worried something was wrong. What do you need?” She had been rocking all of her classes so much for the last few weeks, she rarely even asked for help anymore.

“I need help on a case of sorts. Like, a real one. Not a legal one, but…I know that’s different than just helping me study.” She bit her lip, a nervous habit of hers he’d started to notice.

“Elle, it’s okay,” he said, laughing. She seemed so nervous and all she needed was a consult? “What’s the case?”

“Paulette’s scumbag ex stole her dog. Well, he didn’t like…break in and steal Rufus, but when he kicked Paulette out of the trailer, he kept him. She asked me for help in getting him back and I agreed, but…” She sighed. “I’m worried I’m gonna screw it up.”

“Oh, come on, you’ve got this.”

“Please, Emmett.”

“Of course I’ll go, but I guarantee you, you’ll barely need my help - if you end up needing it at all.”

“Thank you!” She wrapped him in a hug, and this time he was able to return the hug with minimal awkwardness. He couldn’t help but to breathe her in, a now familiar and comforting smell of coconut and vanilla. 

“So,” he began as she stepped back from the hug, beaming. “When are we going?”

“Today…?” she asked hesitantly. “It’s just that it’s Rufus’s birthday, and - “

“Today is fine.” He loved that she cared so much about her friend, _and_ her friend’s dog, that she’d be this nervous about it.

“Great! Let me tell Paulette,” she said, picking her phone up and texting. As many texts as he’d received from Elle, it still baffled him how she could do that so quickly. A moment later, the phone buzzed in response. “Okay, let’s go, we’re gonna meet her at the Hair Affair.”

He followed her as she bounced out of the room. “Do you want me to drive or are we gonna walk?”

“If you could drive, I think that’d be better for getting to Dewey’s.”

They walked to his car and Elle briefed him on Paulette’s situation. It sounded pretty straightforward, and like this Dewey guy didn’t have a legal leg to stand on. They picked up Paulette, who was carrying a cake carrier. 

“Thanks for driving, Emmett. It’s awfully nice of you to help,” she said, shooting a look at Elle not unlike some of the looks his mother gave him. 

“Uh, it’s no problem. Happy to help the cause.”

“I’ve already explained the whole situation to him,” Elle said. “Don’t worry, we’re gonna get Rufus back.”

When they arrived at the trailer court, Paulette seemed nervous. 

“Paulette, are you ready?” Elle asked as she stepped out of the car.

“I don’t know, Elle. Dewey scares the crap out of me.”

“And that’s okay. Channel that fear and tell yourself: you are a strong, independent women. You must be reunited with your dog.”

“Anyone who bakes their dog a birthday cake deserves nothing less,” Emmett added.

Paulette smiled and lifted the lid of off the cake. “It _is_ shaped like a bone.”

“And that kind of devotion cannot be ignored,” Elle said, squeezing Paulette’s shoulder.

“It’s not easy to find dog-friendly chocolate substitutes,” Paulette said as she walked towards the door. Taking a deep breath, she knocked.

A man opened the door, dressed in a wife-beater tank that barely covered his stomach.

“Crap, not you again. Paulette, get your fat ass offa my property!”

“I wanna see my dog, Dewey! I gotta right!” She stood her ground, but was clearly terrified. “I bet you didn’t even know it’s his birthday today.”

He looked somewhere into the trailer, presumably at Rufus.

“It’s your birthday, it’s your birthday! Well, you can’t see him, jelly gut.” Dewey took the cake from Paulette. “Best decision I ever made? Throwing you out.”

He slammed the door in Paulette’s face.

“Can you believe I lived with that for ten years? The cheapskate never even got me a ring!” she said, crying.

Ten years? He pulled Elle aside and whispered, “Elle, they lived together for _ten years_ …”

Elle’s face lit up as she caught his meaning. “Of course! Emmett, you’re a genius!”

She walked back to Dewey’s door and knocked.

“Now what?” Dewey grumbled as he opened the door, scratching his stomach. When he saw Elle, he straightened up.

“Mr…Dewey, we are Ms. Bonofanté’s legal team.”

“Lawyers?” he asked, panic growing on his face.

“I don’t think you understand that the great Commonwealth of Massachusetts recognizes your ten-year relationship with Ms. Bonafonté as a Common Law marriage, which entitles her to…” she trailed off briefly, looking to Emmett. He nodded in encouragement. “…equitable division of property.”

“Huh?” 

“Translation - “ Elle began, turning to Paulette, who then spoke at the same time as her. “We’re taking the dog!”

As if on cue, a dog pushed past Dewey’s legs and ran out of the trailer and straight to Paulette. Dewey looked dumbfounded, but didn’t move to stop him. Paulette kneeled down to cuddle the dog. 

“Oh, Rufus, my angel! I love you. Oh, Elle, I missed this face. This is the nicest thing anybody’s ever done for me, bar none!” She hugged Elle, who had a strange look on her face. “I think I’m gonna walk him home, he deserves a good walk. I’ll see you guys later.”

Elle still looked slightly dazed as they walked back to the car. Once they were inside, Emmett checked in. “You alright, Elle?”

“I finally get it,” she said, laughing.

“Get what?”

“Law! Oh my god, Emmett, I swear, I’m feeling kinda high…” She grinned. “ _This_ is why we do this, isn’t it? The point is helping the underdog. I _get_ it.”

He laughed with her, her joy contagious. He didn’t know _anyone_ at Harvard that decided to become a lawyer for altruistic reasons - even himself. The prestige and money was the obvious draw for most people, and maybe an underlying skill at it (he had been president of the debate club in high school, so it seemed like a reasonable path to take). But that wasn’t what mattered to Elle. Now that she could see past the Warner of the situation, at least a little bit, the thing that she cared about? _Helping others_. God, this girl was remarkable. 

 

\---

 

Elle was still talking about how amazing it was when they got back. She was truly in her element with law, and Emmett was thrilled that she could finally see it. As they walked back into campus, one of Elle’s classmates ran by them and shouted, “Hey, guys! Callahan got a big murder trial defending exercise queen Brooke Wyndham and needs extra help. He’s posting his internship today!”

They looked at each other, wide eyed, then ran towards Hauser. There was already a crowd growing outside of Callahan’s classroom, every one of his students watching the door nervously. Callahan stepped out.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I need the best and the brightest. Congrats to the choice few. And as for the rest of you, welcome to the middle.” He looked up and saw Emmett. “Emmett, I’m making you my co-counsel on the Wyndham trial. Prove yourself, and the term ‘associate’ isn’t far off.”

“Yes, sir!” Emmett said, hardly believing his luck. This was the first time he’d been asked to be co-counsel, and for it to be on such a big case…

“We start Monday, 9:00am sharp.” Callahan turned to the door and posted the list.  As he passed by a still shocked Emmett, he added, “Make sure everyone dresses appropriately.”

“Emmett, that’s so great!” Elle grinned at him and placed a hand on his arm. “I’m so proud of you.”

She held eye contact for a moment, and Emmett seemed to forget how to speak. At least until he heard commotion from the throng of students behind them. When he looked over, he saw Warner, down on one knee, in front of Vivienne. Elle’s hand fell from his arm as she saw it too.

“Make this the happiest day of my life,” Warner said, holding open a box with a ring that was clearly an heirloom. Vivienne kissed him, putting the ring on in such a way that Emmett was pretty sure she was flashing it at Elle.

He looked at Elle as the group of students turned their focus away from the door and towards the newly engaged couple. If he had thought she looked distraught when he came across her in the bunny costume, it was nothing compared to now. All of her excitement from earlier gone, she looked…empty.

Quickly, he pushed through the last few people to look at the list. Like he had suspected, Elle’s name was there. He placed a hand on her shoulder, but she didn’t so much as glance at him. She was too focused on Warner and Vivienne.

“Elle?” He began tapping her shoulder, until she finally turned.

“What?” she asked, frowning. He pointed to the list and her entire demeanor changed. “Oh! Is that _my_ name?”

“Sure is,” he said, grinning.

“Oh my god, oh my god, am I dreaming? Pinch me,” He gave her arm a slight pinch and she jumped in excitement. “That is _my_ name there, _mine_. Well, I suddenly feel _so_ much better.”

She gave him a quick hug before turning towards Warner.

“Oh, Warner? Congrats on your whole engagement thing! Sorry I’ve been so annoying. I know now my best wasn’t enough for you,” she said, shrugging. “But apparently it is for Callahan. I’m _so_ looking forward to working with you!”

“Wait, working with me?”

“Yes! Getting the internship feels so amazing, right?” She smiled innocently, but Emmett saw a glint in her eye. “God, like, do you remember that one spring break? We spent every night in the hot tub and it seemed like the best thing ever, but…looks like I was wrong! This is _way_ better than _anything_ I ever did with you.”

Emmett barely stifled his laugh, especially once he saw the dumbstruck look on Warner’s face. Vivienne was staring daggers at Elle, but she didn’t seem to care.

“See you on Monday!” She waved as she walked away from them and back towards Emmett. 

“ _Damn_ , Elle,” he said, grinning so hard his face hurt.

“Holy shit,” she said, somewhere between a whisper and a squeal. “I can’t believe I just did that. Except, no, I _can_. Because I am the kind of girl that gets internships and aces her classes and stands up to her dickwad ex-boyfriend.”

“Hell yeah you are!”  

She looked up at him, beaming, and for a fleeting moment he felt the urge to kiss her. 

“I gotta go call my mom! Oh, and go shopping! See you later, Emmett!” She waved as she ran in the direction of her dorm.

He stayed in place as he watched her leave, too shocked by what had just crossed his mind to move. Had he really thought about _kissing_ Elle? It wasn’t like he’d been harboring feelings for her or anything, because he really hadn’t. She was just his close friend. Maybe it was just the nature of the kind of moment it was, so much joy and celebration, a gorgeous girl looking at him with so much fondness…

Because, yeah, Elle was gorgeous. He had eyes, he knew that, but he never really dwelled on that fact. But god, she looked even more incredible than ever just now, glowing from her success. That _must_ be it, a weird trick of the moment. Because he was _not_ falling for her. He _couldn’t_ be falling for her, because that would be a monumentally stupid move, to fall for his new best friend that was only even here - at least, originally - to win back her ex. Nope. Elle was his friend, and nothing more, and that was fine. More than fine, it was good.


	6. Chapter 6

By the time Monday morning came around, Emmett was willing to bet he was even more nervous than the new interns. A case like this could make or break _all_ of their careers. On the plus side, he was far too busy preparing for the case to think about that weird moment with Elle. Or at least to think _much_ about it.

He got to the firm’s office shortly after eight and was far from surprised to see Elle sitting in the lobby, cool and composed in a navy blue suit. She grinned as she saw him approach.

“If it isn’t Miss Woods Comma Elle, making the rest of us look bad by showing up so early.”

“It’s not my fault you’re such a slacker,” she said, shrugging.

“That’s me alright,” he said. “ _Such_ a slacker.”

“Maybe you should look into getting a chip on your shoulder, I hear they help,” she said, exaggerated concern in her voice as she frowned at him. 

“Some loser tell you that?” 

“Nah, a pretty great guy did.” 

She smiled, and he felt a slight twinge in his stomach, but he was not gonna let whatever _that_ was distract him. “So, you ready to head upstairs?

“Callahan instructed for the interns to wait here until he’s ready for us,” she said, glancing at the elevator. “Probably wants to make a grand entrance.”

“You’re probably right. You know, I almost didn’t recognize you. Am I losing it or are you completely without pink today?”

“Sadly, you’re correct. I thought I’d go for something _serious_ ,” she said, making air quotes with her fingers. 

“Totally overrated.”

She laughed. “I know, right?”

He was about to comment on the fact that he kinda missed the pink, despite it being a good strategic move to ditch it, when Warner and Vivienne walked in.

“Good morning, Vivienne! Good morning, Warner!” Elle called to them. Emmett watched her closely, looking for any sign of distress, but she seemed completely unfazed by the fact that she was speaking to her ex-boyfriend and his new fiancée. “Aren’t you so psyched to be working on a _real_ trial?”

“Totally.” Sarcasm was still evident in Vivienne’s voice as she spoke, but some of the venom seemed to be gone. Whether it was the security of the engagement or the fact that Elle completely dissed Warner not 48 hours ago, Vivienne seemed slightly more relaxed around her now.

The same could not be said about her fiancé. Warner eyed Elle warily, as if she was going to attack him at any moment. Emmett was not above admitting how much he enjoyed watching him squirm after the way he’d treated her. Warner was saved from having to figure out how to respond by Enid’s arrival, completing their group. 

“If you’ll excuse me,” Emmett said. “I’m going to head on up and see if he’s ready for you yet.”

 

\---

 

In true Callahan fashion, he did not call for the interns to come up until exactly 9:00am. He sent a paralegal for them and began the briefing as soon as they entered the room.

“Meet our brand new client and the reason that you four are standing here with me - Brooke Wyndham,” he said, gesturing to the television, on which a workout video was silently playing. “She’s the queen bee of her own fitness empire, Whip Your Way to Tighter Buns. Mrs. Wyndham has been charged with the murder of her wealthy sixty-year-old husband. She swears up and down that she did not murder him and that she loved him. However, she has not provided me with an alibi.” 

“Did she do it?” Warner asked.

“What does your gut tell you, Mr. Huntington?”

The group looked at the video again, just as Brooke began miming as if she was choking someone with the jump rope.

“My gut tells me yes,” he said, smirking.

“And the rest of you?”

Almost everyone in the room began to nod, and Emmett was inclined to agree, but Elle just looked perturbed. 

“Excuse me,” she started, but Callahan ignored her.

“This is exactly why we need that alibi. Without it, she looks guilty as hell. Now, the reason I need all of you is that Brooke doesn’t trust me. I’m the only thing standing between her and the death penalty, yet she refuses to give me the alibi. I am sending all of you - under Emmett’s care - to the jail, in the hopes that one of you may be able to talk some sense into her. Now, go.”

“Professor Callahan, I - “ Elle tried again, but he continued to ignore her and walked out of the room.

“Alright,” Emmett said, shooting Elle an apologetic look and hoping she understood the pressure he was under to make this go well. “Let’s head out.”

 

\---

 

“Wyndham!” The guard hollered. “You got some visitors!”

Brooke Wyndham sat at a table looking bored as her visitors approached. Emmett hoped that he looked both calmer and more professional than he felt.

“Hi, Mrs. Wyndham. I’m Emmett Forrest. I’m co-counsel with Stidwell, Zyskowski, Fox, and Callahan,” he said, offering his hand. She shook it as she scanned the group behind him. “These four interns are the cream of the crop at Harvard Law and we’re here to ‘whip up’ your legal defense.”

She stared at him, clearly unimpressed with his attempt at humor.

“Incidentally, uh, my mom’s a big fan of your DVDs. Credits you with her nutcracker butt.” Brooke raised an eyebrow at him and he realized how that sounded. “Her words. Anyhoo, we’d love to discuss your case and go over a few choices. We want to free you as soon as possible, so you can bring your message back to your fans.”

“That’s all I want, this should be easy,” she said, smiling at him for the first time.

“Great,” he said, feeling somewhat emboldened. “Callahan briefed me on your meeting and there is a significant amount of evidence against you. To free you, the jury will need to hear an alibi.”

“Not gonna happen,” she said, shrugging as if it was nothing.

“Even though it could save you?” He tried to keep his face neutral, but wasn’t sure he succeeded. Even though Callahan had told them she was resistant to providing the alibi, he hadn’t expected her to be so…laissez faire about it.

“Yep. Put me on the stand and I’ll be forced to lie.”

“Okay, Ms. Wyndham, if we can’t hear an alibi, you should accept a plea bargain,” Warner cut in.

“And admit to something I didn’t do?” 

Vivienne came forward to make an attempt. “But with a plea bargain, you’d get out in a couple of years. That sounds reasonable, right?” 

“Reasonable to do time for my husband’s killer? Not really.” 

Emmett was scrambling to try and think of some way to get back on Brooke’s good side, when Enid stepped in.

“Yo! Sister - “ she began, but Brooke cut her off immediately.

“Yo! Not related! I need a defense team who knows I’m innocent. Get out of here, all of you. Guard!” She looked disgusted as she turned and walked away from them.

Emmett sighed, knowing this particular battle was lost, at least for the time being. He led the group out of the visiting room and back to the lobby. They needed to figure out a different way to approach her before coming back. His first big case with Callahan and he was already blowing it, not even lasting five minutes before pissing off the client. He turned towards the interns to debrief and noticed that Elle was not among them.

“Excuse me, guard? We’ve gotta head back in there,” he said. 

“Nope, not when your client kicked you out.” 

“But one of our team is still back there. We need to see what’s going on. If she hasn’t gotten anywhere with our client, we’ll all leave, I swear.”

The guard rolled his eyes but unlocked the door, once again leading them back.

They filed back into the visiting room just in time to catch Brooke yelling at Elle as the guards took her back, though he couldn’t hear what she’d said. Elle stood there, smiling.

“Elle, there you are,” Emmett said. 

“Where’s Brooke?” Callahan’s voice came from the doorway and Emmett automatically straightened his spine, nerves in full force. He had hoped he’d have time to fix things with Brooke before Callahan arrived.

“The guard just took her back,” Elle explained.

“Great…” Callahan started to turn to Emmett.

“But I got her alibi,” Elle said, bringing everyone’s attention to her. Emmett felt relief wash over him, followed by a feeling best described as ‘duh.’ _Of course_ she had done it.

“You’re kidding,” Callahan said, dumbfounded. “So, what is it?”

“I’m afraid I can’t tell you.” 

“Why not?” Callahan asked coldly.

“I Double Delta Nu Sister swore not to.”

“Elle,” Vivienne said, gaping at her. “This is not some little sorority thing…”

“Oh, I know. It’s a _big_ sorority thing. But don’t worry! Brooke really had nothing to do with this. I mean, think about it…Brooke’s a fitness queen. Exercise gives you endorphins, and endorphins make you happy. Happy people don’t kill their husbands.” She smiled and shrugged. “They just don’t.”

“Emmett - a word,” Callahan said, pulling him aside from the interns. “What the hell is going on here? Can’t you talk some sense into that girl?”

“Which one?” he asked, hesitantly.

“Either one, it really doesn’t matter. We need that alibi.”

“Professor Callahan, I -” he began.

“Emmett, let me be very clear. This is your chance, and I gave you simple instructions: lead this legal team and get me an alibi. You’re zero for two.” 

Emmett only nodded, as words seemed more likely to harm than help. He and Callahan walked back towards the others, who were whispering furiously to each other.

“Everyone, field trip’s over, let’s go. Back to work,” Callahan said to them. Then he turned toward Elle and Emmett. “Except you two. I’d rather not see ratty corduroy or legally blonde again today.”

Of the many times he’d heard Callahan make disparaging comments, they had never felt quite as cold as at that moment. He sunk down on the bench and loosened his tie, trying to fight off the sense of panic. Callahan said this was his chance. If he couldn’t fix this, the last three years of hard work and kissing Callahan’s ass would be wasted.

“Emmett, I’m sorry,” Elle said.

“I don’t need you to be sorry, Elle, I need you to tell me the alibi,” he snapped.

“I can’t because I gave Brooke my word. Having an alibi isn’t the only way to win this case.”

“No, but it sure would help.” 

“Work with me. We’ll free Brooke the right way, the noble way,” she said, optimism in her voice. Usually, this was something he loved about her, but right now it was only frustrating. 

“This isn’t a Lifetime Original Movie, Elle. I’m not interested in nobility right now, I’m more interested in saving Brooke’s life.” 

“No you’re not. You’re more interested in impressing Callahan.”

Touché. “Well, he _is_ my boss. And if I impress him, he’ll make me associate.”

“And jeopardize your client’s trust and our integrity?” she asked, fixing him with a look.

Well, shit. He attempted to think of a defense, but she was right. As much as he wanted to succeed, there were costs he was not willing to pay for it. “Well…when you put it _that_ way.”

“Exactly, you butthead.” She nudged his shoulder. “My word means something, and I know yours does too.”

“No one’s called me a butthead since the third grade.”

“Maybe not to your face,” she said, smirking. “C’mon, let’s get out of here.”

“Why do you always have to be right?” He mostly meant it facetiously, but part of him really did wonder how she managed it.

“I don’t have to be. When I’m with you, I just am,” she said, shrugging. “But hey, if you wanna impress Callahan, I can help.”

“Okay, how?”

“Listen…” She gave him a once over before looking back to his face and wrapping an arm around his shoulders. “I love your scruffy vibe, I do. But ‘casual Friday’ is so not in Callahan’s vocabulary, and you have to dress the part if you want to get ahead.”

He rolled his eyes and pulled away from her. “Elle, didn’t your mother ever teach you about not judging a book by its cover?”

“She did. And I also know that books with tattered covers stay on the shelves.”

“Oh, thanks a lot!” he said, laughing. If he didn’t know her better, he’d be offended.

“Emmett, this isn’t a perfect world. Think people haven’t judged me my whole life? Think it wasn’t a good idea to make navy my new pink?” she asked.

“No, that was a good idea.”

“I know!” She held out her hand. “Now, give me the keys, I’m driving.”

“Where are we going, exactly?” he asked, handing her the keys.

“You trust me, don’t you?” she asked, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

“Of course…” True though it was, he couldn’t help but still feel wary.

“Then don’t stop now.”


	7. Chapter 7

Elle remained quiet on the drive to wherever they were going, but Emmett resisted asking more questions. Like he said - he trusted her, and he wanted her to know that, especially after the argument (if you could even call it that) they had just had. It was just that the smile on her face was bordering on nefarious.

As they exited the car, Emmett realized they were at a mall. Elle walked confidently in, and he almost had to jog to keep up. Before he knew it, he was surrounded by clothing and a strange sense of calm came over him.

“What is this place?” he asked, looking around. One glance at the clothing on display told him this was no thrift store. 

“It’s called a department store,” she said, taking a deep breath. 

He almost protested - he had realized _that_ much - but stopped himself. This was her world and she was practically glowing. “It’s…beautiful.”

He cringed after he spoke, but she didn’t seem to notice the awkwardness of his statement. And really, it _was_ kind of beautiful in here. Gentle lighting, nice clothes. He followed her around in a daze for several minutes as she looked around, handing various items of clothing to a salesgirl who seemed to appear out of nowhere. Eventually, Elle looked back at him and frowned. He must have looked as lost as he felt.

“I know this is all a bit overwhelming, but it’ll be so worth it. You’re gonna knock ‘em off their feet,” she said, lifting a jacket up to his shoulders for a moment before shaking her head and putting it back on the shelf.

“If you say so, Elle…”

“Of course I do. This is your chance to show them that you are so much more than corduroy.” She smiled at him, and nodded to the salesgirl. “Now swallow your pride and go try those on. Trust me.”

He walked into the dressing room and was surprised to find multiple suits and shirts were waiting for him, all in his size. 

“How did you know my size?” he asked Elle, who was waiting outside.

“I told you when we first met, my undergrad degree was in fashion merchandising. I know what I’m doing.”

“Duh, of course,” he chuckled as he looked at the offerings in the sizable dressing room. Everything was fancy, nothing really looked like him. It wasn’t like a new suit would actually make him a better lawyer, it was just a superficial way to get people to “respect” you. What was he even _doing_?

“How’s it going?” Elle asked. “You’re awfully quiet in there.”

Oh, that’s right. He was doing what Elle asked of him, because he never really could bring himself to say no to her. And honestly, why would he? Trying on some clothes was a small price to pay to make her happy.

“It’s going…fine. Well, I mean, I haven’t tried anything on, I was just…trying figure out where to start.”

“Okay, open up, I’m coming in.” He opened the door and she charged in. She quickly arranged the suits and shirts into matching outfits (at least, he assumed that’s what she was doing), and handed him one to start with. “You can do this.”

She placed her hand on his shoulder and squeezed, giving him a quick smile before walking back out. If his heart was beating a little bit faster, well, it was probably just nerves over this whole new “dress to impress” situation. He just had to trust her. 

As he changed into the first suit, he heard Elle humming, but he couldn’t recognize the tune. “What’s that song you’re humming?”

“Oh, nothing.”

“Are you humming along with muzak?” It was charming, something he’d never thought about muzak before.

“Am I?” She paused for a moment, then laughed. “I guess I am. I suppose I _might_ have spent enough time here to memorize it.”

He finished straightening the tie and looked at himself in the mirror. It looked…wrong.

“I don’t know about this suit, Elle.”

“Well, come out and let me see.”

Hesitantly, he opened the door. 

“Hmmm…” She walked closer to him, looking carefully at the suit. “I think there’s potential here, but unfortunately we’ve gotta go with off-the-rack, there’s no time for tailoring. Try the next one.”

“Are you sure it’s not just me? I don’t think I’m meant for this kind of clothing.”

“Oh, please.” She rolled her eyes. “I promise you, we will find something that is professional, stylish, and looks _amazing_ on you. Now go.”

He sighed and walked back into the dressing room, resigning himself to try again. The next suit, he had to admit, was a little better. Once again, he walked out so Elle could examine him.

Her eyes widened as she looked at him. “Now _that_ is what I am talking about. God, shopping for men is the _best_. Find the right suit and bam, they immediately get hotter.”

“Um,” he said, unsure of how to respond. “So, do you think this one?”

“Maybe. But you won’t know you’ve found the right one until you’ve tried them all.”

“But there’s like -”

“There are only three more, you big baby. You can do it,” she said, grinning at him. 

As there was no point in arguing, he sighed and turned right back around. He’d never spent this much time in a dressing room, his usual method of shopping being finding clothes that looked right at the thrift store and buying them, since he didn’t particularly care if they fit perfectly, as long as they weren’t too small. Not that he even went shopping that often - he’d owned the jacket that Callahan so disliked since he was a teenager. 

The next two were “good, but still not quite right,” according to Elle. As he was changing into the final suit, she knocked on the door.

“Come on, you slowpoke, hurry up.”

“I’m almost done, just come in,” he said, opening the door just before putting the jacket on. As he buttoned the jacket, he and Elle both looked at the mirror.

“Whoa,” they said in unison. Maybe she had a point about finding the so-called “right” suit, even if it was hard to believe he was looking at his own reflection.

“I look like Warner.” 

“Yeah,” she said faintly.

He unbuttoned the jacket, trying to feel a little more comfortable. “But it’s just me.”

“There’s no just about it, Emmett.” She turned and placed her hands on his shoulders, looking him right in the eyes. “That’s the best part. The outside may be new, but this…this reflects what’s inside. And I couldn’t change that if I wanted to. Which, for the record, I don’t.”

“Thank you.”

“No, thank you. This is just me paying you back for what you’ve done for me. You saw beyond my outside, too.” She looked him up and down, and grinned. “We _have_ to buy this.”

“Um, Elle, is this the price?” he asked, his voice going embarrassingly squeaky as he looked at the tag. He was fairly certain the suit alone cost more than he’d spent on clothing in the last decade. 

“Don’t worry, this is my treat,” she said, talking over his attempts at protest. “Like I just said - I’m paying you back. You helped me with all the law stuff when no one else would give me a chance, so I’m helping you. And it’d be a crime to let you walk out of this store without this, frankly. You look _hot._ ”

She gave him another once over and grinned wolfishly before walking out of the dressing room. He was glad for her sudden absence, as she had no time to see how flushed her comment had made him. She was probably just excited about the shopping, but a little voice in the back of his head wondered if she really meant it. The look she had given him just now was definitely not the kind of look he was used to receiving from anyone, let alone from Elle. He tried to shake the thought out of his mind.

Without her, he certainly never would have been standing in a department store, wearing a ridiculously overpriced suit. A suit that, he had to admit, made him actually look the part of a professional lawyer. Maybe not quite what he’d have chosen for himself, but she had a knack for making him think her way.

Before he had even finished changing back into his own clothes, Elle had asked him to pass the new suit to her, saying, “I can’t have you changing your mind.” When he stepped back into the men’s department, he found her waiting near the register. She saw him and, for just a moment, he thought he saw her give him the same kind of look as she had just before - despite him being back in his old clothes - but it was soon replaced by her usual bright, friendly smile. That didn’t make his heart beat any slower, though.

As she approached, she held out a shopping bag. 

“Here you go, your first grown up suit,” she said, winking at him. “You’re gonna look so good, you’ll have the jurors eating out of the palm of your hand.”

“Thank you, Elle,” he said, taking the bag from her. 

“You are more than welcome.” She bit her lip, and his eyes lingered for a moment, until she began speak again. “I’m so excited for you!”

She went to hug him and for a wild moment he thought she might kiss him, enough that he nearly leaned in for it, but she wrapped her arms around him, tucking her face into his neck. He hugged her back, but his mind was reeling.

He…might kind of have a crush on his best friend.

 

\---

 

As they left the mall, Elle talked about the trial and her ideas for how Emmett might get back into Callahan’s good graces, but he could hardly focus on what she was saying. He’d been able to write off the first time he thought about kissing her, but the second? It was like everything suddenly clicked into place and, oh my god, he _liked_ her. Somehow, he managed to feign some sense of normalcy in conversation until they got to his apartment. At least, he _thought_ he did, but apparently his acting skills left something to be desired.

“Okay, Emmett, what’s going on?” Elle asked, looking at him with concern.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that you’ve been weird since we left the mall. I know that it’s out of your comfort zone, but you’re not actually upset about the new suit, are you?”

“No, no, I’m not upset.” He hated that he could do anything to make her doubt how much he appreciated her. “I mean, even though you’re absolutely right about the alibi, I might still be a little upset about how everything went down earlier. Not at you, of course, but…just generally speaking.”

While that was _technically_ true, it wasn’t even close to as upsetting as what he was feeling about Elle right now, but he wasn’t about to say that.

“I get it. Do you want me to stay and help you plan a comeback?” She grinned and he felt honest-to-god butterflies in his stomach. _How_ could he have missed the fact that he was crazy about her?

“No, thank you though,” he said, giving her a weak smile. “I think I just need to get some rest. Recharge before tomorrow, you know.”

“Fair enough.” She didn’t look fully convinced, but was gracious enough to let it go. “See you tomorrow, Emmett. You’re gonna kick ass and blow Callahan’s mind, I know it.”

Once she left, he found himself at a loss for what to do. He knew it was the right call to send her home, any more time with her and he might just have blurted out his feelings, and that seemed like a pretty poor idea given that he wasn’t even positive what those feelings were. 

He was pretty certain that he had a crush. If his sudden panic this afternoon was any indication, it was a raging one. Probably something that’d been building for awhile, but he was just too damn dense to notice it. Honestly, it _should_ have been obvious to him. His mom gave him a hard time at Thanksgiving because logically, why _wouldn’t_ he have been into Elle? She was a knockout.

The thing was, crushes had always been rather uncomfortable for him. He’d like someone, he’d be unable to function like a human being around them, they’d ignore him, and it’d eventually run its course. The couple of girlfriends he’d had were basically miracle occurrences, especially given that he’d been working non-stop since hitting adolescence. And those relationships never felt like this, either. 

Things with Elle - prior to this afternoon, at least - had never been uncomfortable. He’d been intrigued by her from the start, sure, but who wouldn’t have wondered about this pink bombshell spreading optimism all over the Harvard Law campus? As he’d gotten to know her, though, things had always felt normal. Well, maybe not _normal_ , but easygoing. He never felt like he had to try and impress her. She just accepted him, scruffy clothing and all. It didn’t even feel _that_ weird when he began thinking of her as his best friend, despite only knowing her for a couple of months, because it just felt…right. That’s not what a crush felt like, that was just simple friendship.

At least, it was simple friendship until he suddenly started thinking about _kissing_ said friend. Oddly enough, it didn’t feel so simple after that. Was he gonna be weird around her from now on, like he was with all of his other crushes? He didn’t want things to get weird. He wasn’t even positive he wanted things to change _at all_ yet, let alone at the risk of losing what they had. 

The thought occurred to him, though…what if this _wasn’t_ a crush? What if that’s why it snuck up on him like it did? He couldn’t truly say he’d ever been in love. He’d had serious relationships, they’d been fun until they weren’t, he’d felt heartbroken, but…he’d moved on fairly easily, truth be told. He didn’t think those were really love. But what if this was? How the hell would he even _know_?  

Thinking back to his past relationships, both romantic and platonic, he couldn’t think of anyone he’d felt the same way about as he felt about Elle. It wasn’t necessarily that he felt _more_ for her, but it was like something else entirely. Something new. Something so great that he couldn’t fathom his life without her, without the kind of connection that they had. God, maybe that really _was_ love. Was he in love with his best friend? Could he have fallen so hard for this incredible woman without realizing it? The more he thought about it, the more possible it seemed.

Elle wasn’t like anyone he had ever met before. She was so kind, charming, optimistic, witty, genuine, honest, and _smart_. Who else could have effectively missed an entire month and a half of law school and caught up in as much time? Her interests may not lie in typical academic areas, but anything she put her mind to…she was _incredible_. And she was fearless, too. To be so unapologetically herself on this judgmental as hell campus was a feat in and of itself, let alone to deal with Callahan’s shit day after day without giving up on her goals.

His stomach sank. Her goals. Her goals of winning back and marrying Warner. She’d come _so_ far recently and she certainly _seemed_ over him when she dissed him so hard the other day, but…what if she wasn’t? What if she still wanted to marry that boring, vain, and deeply average douchebag? It wasn’t like Emmett was actually expecting reciprocated feelings, but he wasn’t sure how he’d handle that. As her _friend_ , he’d be upset if she settled for him, but now? Maybe that’s why he blocked out the feelings for so long, it made no sense to fall for a woman who was hung up on someone else. Yet here he was.

She deserved so much better than Warner Huntington III. The man dumped her for the sake of _image_. Romantic feelings aside, Emmett knew he’d do anything in his power to fight to keep her in his life if there was risk of losing her, even as a friend. He certainly wouldn’t give her up for the bullshit reasons Warner had dumped her. If he earned Elle’s love, he’d be fully aware he was the luckiest man alive.

He hadn’t realized he was pacing until he stumbled over a stray shoe. He flopped down into a nearby chair and ran a hand through his hair, trying to relax a _little_ despite the nervous energy. The timing of it all was just plain unfair. Realizing he was in love with this best friend on the same day that he got yelled at by his boss over a career-making case? That was messed up. And, God help him, he _was_ in love. He was head over heels in love with Elle Woods and, at present, there was nothing he could do about it.

But he _could_ at least try to do something about the case. Elle had been right about making a game plan, and it would at least give him something else to focus on. He decided to text her.

**Hey elle i think im feeling better. Any chance you still wanna work on a plan?**

Her reply was pretty much instantaneous.

**Yes!!!**

**Ok. Ill be over soon.**

**Yay!!! :D :D**

He could totally do this. He could be normal with the woman he loved, because the only alternative was to ruin the best thing to happen to him since…well, pretty much ever.


	8. Chapter 8

Emmett and Elle had spent most of the evening poring over details of the case, trying to find any way to establish reasonable doubt within the jury. If they couldn’t share Brooke’s alibi, their next best bet would be to poke a hole in the prosecution’s motive or to suggest a more likely suspect - anything to cause reasonable doubt. Problem was, they didn’t come up with very much. But they at least had a plan for how to make Emmett seem more professional and presentable. It probably wouldn’t help much, but at least it wouldn’t hurt. And thankfully, other than the fact that he was suddenly way too aware of her proximity, things with her at least seemed okay. It was like putting a name to the feeling made it seem a little less terrifying.

The following morning, Elle came over early to help him get ready. It seemed silly to get help with something as simple as a suit and tie, but he wasn’t about to argue when she insisted. After all, she was the fashion expert here. Her only instructions to him were “be showered by 7, and I’ll take care of the rest.” When she arrived, he was freshly showered and dressed in pajamas, worried that he’d somehow mess up the suit if he put it on too early.

“What’s up, doc?” she asked as soon as she walked in and saw his Bugs Bunny pajama pants. He bought them sometime after he had said the same thing to her on that fateful night, and in retrospect that may have been part of the appeal. Maybe he should have worn something else. 

“Haha, very funny,” he said, hoping she didn’t see how he suddenly felt a little flustered. He told himself to get it together, it wasn’t like she was gonna make the connection. “So, what now?”

She looked around his apartment until her eyes narrowed in on the abandoned shopping bag in the corner. “Oh, Emmett, please tell me you didn’t leave it - “

“In a ball on the floor? No, I hung it up, don’t worry.”

“Thank God.” She laughed. “Okay, so, go put that on. I’ll help with some minor adjustments and fix up your hair.”

He reflexively lifted a hand to his head. “What’s wrong with my hair?” 

“Nothing is wrong with it, it’s just…a little messy, that’s all. Which is fine for everyday, but not great for court.”

“I don’t have any styling products…”

She smirked at him. “I figured as much. Don’t worry, I got it covered, go change.”

“Of course you do,” he laughed as he went into his bedroom to change.

He wished he could say he was surprised that he forgot about doing his hair, but really, he had no problem believing it. As he changed, he couldn’t help but think about how well Elle complemented him - and, he hoped, he complemented her. She provided him with different perspectives on things, challenged his often jaded views, and, well, had ideas that never even would have occurred to him - such as styling his hair before a big court case. He only hoped he could help her as much as she helped him. He may have assisted in her becoming more studious, but frankly, she helped him become more human. And happy. Without a doubt, she made him feel truly happy in a way he hadn’t in a long time.

“Okay, Elle, I think I’m good,” he called as he pulled on the jacket.

She walked into the room and looked him up and down. Once again, he saw something in her face that was a little different…like she liked what she saw, more than for the sake of fashion. But he told himself it was probably wishful thinking. Just because he felt that way about her didn’t mean that he should starting reading into every look and comment she made.

“ _Damn_ , Emmett, you look good,” she said, grinning. “No buyer’s remorse here. Just let me fix your tie a little…”

She stepped closer to him, grabbing his tie, and he suddenly found it difficult to breathe. He tried hard to think about the upcoming trial instead of the way that he could smell vanilla and coconut in her hair. When she finished with adjusting his tie, she looked up at him, but didn’t let go. He couldn’t quite decipher the look on her face - it was almost shy, indecisive. All of his instincts were telling him to lean in, just a little closer, but he knew he couldn’t. So instead, he cleared his throat.

“Uh, Elle? Didn’t you say we need to get my hair done too?”

She quickly stepped back from him, looking startled. “You’re right, yes, sorry.” 

Picking up a bag he hadn’t noticed her bring in, she pulled out multiple bottles and tubs full of god knows what.

“Whoa.”

“Just trust me,” she said, gesturing for him to sit down. 

As he sat down, he made a concentrated effort to distract himself with talk of the trial. Elle running her fingers through his hair wasn’t exactly easy to ignore, but fortunately as soon as the product hit his head, he didn’t need additional distraction. 

“Oof, that’s cold!” He automatically jerked his head away from her. “And also kind of tingly?”

“Get back here, you wimp,” she said, and he could hear the eye roll in her voice. “You’ll survive.”

He leaned back and she continued her work. By the time she was done, his head kind of felt heavier. He reached up to touch his hair and she slapped his hand away.

“Don’t you dare. Now turn around and let me look at you.”

He stood up and turned to face her, and she smiled. 

“Perfect,” she said, her voice quiet.

“Are we ready to go?”

“Let’s go kick some legal ass.”

 

\---

 

During the drive to the courthouse, the air between them felt charged. Whether it was romantic or nerve driven, though, he couldn’t tell. He’d managed to do a decent job of not letting the pressure of the trial today get to him, but it was getting harder to ignore. No matter what he did, if today didn’t go well, it could be the end of his work with Callahan. There were several times he thought he saw Elle looking at him, but each time he glanced her way she was facing forward. 

He pulled into a parking spot, but didn’t get out of the car. This time, he was positive Elle was looking at him.

“You got this, Emmett,” she said, placing a hand on his shoulder. 

He smiled at her, grateful that she knew exactly what was going through his mind (well, more or less) and that he could truly believe she meant it.

“Thank you.”

They walked into the building together, but instead of heading to the courtroom, Elle pulled him aside. “I need you to do me a favor.”

“Okay?”

“Look at yourself,” she said, pointing to the mirrored wall by the elevator - something he had never really paid any attention to.

He obviously knew that he was done up a little nicer than normal, but his reflection still kind of caught him off guard. He had to admit, he really did look _good_. 

“Okay, I’m looking…” he said, unable to stop a smile.

“Now, quick, keep looking in the mirror and say this: I am a hot, confident lawyer, and I will win this case.”

“Are you kidding me?” he laughed. 

“Not in the least,” she said, her voice serious. “There’s no one around right now. I swear, it’ll help.”

He looked around and noticed that she was indeed correct, no one was close enough to hear. It felt utterly absurd, but he would try it. He’d probably try anything she suggested.

“I…” he said, glancing back one more time to make sure no one was there. “I am a hot, confident lawyer, and I will win this case.” He barely managed to finish saying it before busting out laughing. Elle was grinning at him. “Okay, so, what was the point in that?”

“Well, you feel better now, don’t you?”

“I guess I do,” he said, looking back at his reflection. “And I do look pretty good.”

“Hell yeah, you do.”

“Maybe there’s _something_ to this whole fashion thing…” He really _did_ feel more confident. He could totally do this.

“Finally, you get it!” she said, briefly taking him by the hand to pull him back towards the courtroom. “I’m serious about affirmations, though, those things work.”

“You mean talking to yourself in the mirror isn’t just self-help garbage?” he asked, trying to mask the sense of disappointment when she let go of his hand.

“Not at all! There was this girl in my sorority…”

Elle shared tales of the power of affirmations until they entered the courtroom, at which point their entire legal team looked back at them, shock on their faces.

“My god, Emmett, is that you?” Callahan asked.

“Elle took me shopping.” He said it casually, but was kind of reveling in the attention. This wasn’t exactly the response to he was used to getting. 

“Emmett, you look sharp.” Callahan actually smiled at him. Emmett couldn’t remember the last time Callahan had looked impressed with him, if ever. Usually he made sure some level of disdain remained, probably in order to keep his scary reputation in place.

“Chock one up for Elle,” Enid said appreciatively. 

Vivienne nodded in agreement, but Warner looked slightly annoyed. Elle just smiled, looking at Emmett as if he was the most important person in the room. She was clearly proud of the work she’d done.

Soon, the judge called the court to order. “Prosecution, please call your first witness.”

“Prosecution would like to call Mr. Nikos Argitakos to the stand.”

Mr. Argitakos was brought into the room. He wore a brightly colored silk shirt and had an overconfident look on his face as he settled into the witness seat. Emmett could only hope that whatever testimony he had to provide, the jurors would distrust it. 

“Mr. Argitakos,” the prosecutor began. “Is it true that you were employed by the Wyndham family?”

“Yes, I was the pool boy.”

“Would you clarify for the court exactly what your duties were as the pool boy?”

“Cleaning the pool.”

“So, Mr. Argitakos, could you explain to the court what Exhibit A is?” she asked, holding up a leopard print thong.

“That was my uniform.”

“Was it Mrs. Wyndham’s idea to have you wear this… _uniform_?” 

“Yes,” he said, his face looking even more smug than it had a moment before. That couldn’t be a good sign.

“And could you please tell the court exactly what your relationship was to the defendant?”

“Brooke and I were lovers.”

The entire room seemed to gasp, most notably the jurors. Emmett felt his stomach knot - this was _bad_.

“No further questions.” The prosecutor walked away, a cool but triumphant look on her face.

“He was your lover?” Callahan whispered furiously to Brooke.

“Oh, no. A Delta Nu would never sleep with a man in a thong!” she replied, disgusted. “I just liked to watch him clean the filters…”

“Unbelievable! You’re all making me look like an ass up there!” Callahan said, before turning back to speak to the judge. “Your honor, I request a 10-minute recess.”

“Recess granted.”

“Excuse me, I’ll be right back,” Elle said, her eyes wide. She practically ran out of the courtroom. Emmett wanted to ask her what was going on, but Callahan needed his attention.

“Why didn’t I know about this disaster?” Callahan asked, pacing the room.

“Alright, it _is_ a set-back…” Emmett said, trying to reassure his boss, though he was feeling just as desperate.

“It’s motive, Emmett.” He turned to Brooke. “Do you have _anything_ that might prove him wrong?” 

“No, it’s kind of hard to prove the absence of an affair, isn’t it?” she said, panic in her voice. “But I swear, I never slept with him.”

Emmett was wracking his brain, looking for _some_ way to cast doubt on this, when Elle ran back in. She looked positively gleeful.

“Guys! I think I know how to prove he’s lying. Nikos is _totally_ gay,” she said as soon as she was back within earshot.

“And you know this how?” Callahan asked, studying her carefully.

“As I was listening to his testimony, I kept thinking he looked familiar, and then I remembered. I’ve seen him at the Hair Affair! I just double checked with Paulette, and she totally recognized his name. He was there recently talking about his _boyfriend_. If he’s gay, he _couldn’t_ have had an affair with Brooke.”

“He did leave a Cher CD in the pool house once!” Brooke said excitedly.

“That doesn’t necessarily negate the possibility of an affair…” Emmett said, frowning.

“Well duh, he could be bi, though based on the rude way he was talking about the women around him that day, I doubt it. But either way, it _would_ at least provide reasonable doubt.” 

“You want to out this guy on the stand?” Warner scoffed. “Elle, that’s crazy. You can’t build a legal strategy on gossip from a hair salon.”

“We know the affair is a lie, though,” she said, gesturing to Brooke. “We just need to convince the jury of it.”

“So you think he’s perjured himself, but you can’t prove it.” Callahan sighed. “If you’re wrong, we look desperate _and_ homophobic.”

“But if she’s right…” Vivienne said, looking at Nikos as he waited for court to resume.

“I know I am!” Elle said, rolling her eyes.

“The point still stands that we can’t just claim he’s gay without proof,” Callahan said.

“Wait a minute!” Emmett said, turning to Callahan. He had an utterly insane idea, but it at least was _something_. The recess was almost over, so there wasn’t much other choice. “Give me a chance to crack this guy. I have an idea I’d like to try.”

“The floor is yours.”

As the judge called court back into session. Emmett took a deep breath and walked out onto the courtroom floor. It was worth a shot. Worst case scenario was that he wouldn’t fall for it, and in that case…well, he’d figure out how to cover his ass somehow. 

“So, Mr. Argitakos, this alleged affair with Mrs. Wyndham… Were you seeing her exclusively?” he asked, hoping that it wasn’t obvious where he was going.

“Yes, we were in love.” Emmett couldn’t understand how the jury didn’t immediately see just how fake Argitakos was being, but a glance at them suggested they were buying it.

“And how long has it been going on for?”

“Two years.”

“And your first name is again…?”

“Nikos.”

“And your boyfriend’s name is…?”

“Carlos.”

Emmett nearly dropped his papers, shocked that such an old, cheesy trick had worked.

“Sorry, I misunderstand!” he shouted, panic on his face. “You say boyfriend, I thought you say best friend. Carlos is my _best_ friend.”

“You bastard!” A voice from the crowd yelled out. “You lying bastard!”

Emmett whipped around to see a man turn and begin to walk out of the courtroom.

“Carlos, no!” Nikos said, standing up and running off the stand, the guards chasing after him.

Everyone in the courtroom looked around, dumbfounded at what had just happened.

“I’m going to declare another brief recess while we locate the witness,” the judge said slowly. 

Emmett walked back to the table, where every member of the team was grinning at him, but no one looked happier than Elle. 

There was a buzz of chatter throughout the courtroom as everyone waited for court to go back in session. However, because Argitakos had fled the building and was nowhere to be found, they were unable to resume. Once the judge dismissed them for the day, Callahan instructed everyone to head back to the office to go over potential strategies. 

“Can I get a ride with the star lawyer?” Elle asked, nudging Emmett with her elbow and grinning.

“But I thought you were gonna ride with me.” He frowned.

She rolled her eyes. “I am so proud of you, Emmett. That was amazing.”

“It was completely _insane_ , that’s what it was.”

“Yeah, it was.” She laughed. “But it worked.”

“Anyway, you’re the one who figured out the lead, I just…got him to admit it.”

“Well, we make a pretty good team then, don’t we?” She smiled at him, almost shyly.

“We do.” He wondered if she might mean as much by that as he did.

 

\---

 

When they got to the office, they were told to wait in the conference room for Callahan. The others seemed to give Emmett a little more respect than he was used to seeing, which was weird - nice, but still weird. Before long, Callahan walked into the room accompanied by an assistant with a tray of champagne flutes.

“It seemed like a little celebration was in order before we get back to work,” he said, smiling at Emmett. As soon as everyone had a glass in their hands, he began a toast. “To Emmett! For decisively turning the case around and for nailing the pool boy.”

“Emmett nailed the pool boy,” Warner snickered, but cut himself off when he noticed the lack of reaction from the others.

“Well,” Emmett said, ignoring Warner. “I have to share this victory with Elle.”

Elle smiled and shook her head, as if she didn’t deserve some credit as well.

“To Emmett and - I can’t believe I’m saying this - to Elle,” Enid said.

He shot Enid a sideways glance, as the caveat seemed unnecessary, but at least people were starting to recognize what Elle had to offer.

“To Elle!” 

Everyone but Warner toasted.

“Since when did a finely-tuned gaydar qualify as a legal victory?” he asked sullenly.

Emmett was gratified to see Callahan turn to Warner, looking upset.

“Without that gaydar, as you say, we wouldn’t be celebrating with champagne, we’d be dead in the water. Elle Woods trusts her gut and has shown more legal smarts than most of my staff. She won this round, making her a good lawyer. And while we’d still love to hear that alibi she got, by keeping it, she’s never compromised the client’s trust, making her a great one. Which is more than I can say about you, Warner. Be useful. Go get me a coffee.”

“But we’re drinking champagne?” Warner sputtered.

“Splenda and skim.” He looked back to the rest of the team. “Everyone else, we’ve still got some work to do. The jury is on our side right now and we need to figure out how to keep them there.”

They spent the next two hours poring over evidence and discussing possible strategies. Emmett would like to say that his head was in it the whole time, but he kept getting distracted by Elle. And it wasn’t just because of the newness of the feelings, or the fact that she looked amazing (though, of course, she did), but because she kept _looking_ at him. And he was almost positive there was something different in that look, like maybe those moments earlier weren’t just flukes, and maybe, just maybe, she felt the same way about him. 

Even her body language toward him seemed to be different. When her knee brushed his under the table, he felt her still for a moment, as if she was just as aware of him as he was of her. In the past, something like that wouldn’t really have been noticeable. 

He had half convinced himself to tell her how he felt by the time Callahan decided to wrap things up. “Okay, everyone, please go home and get a good night’s sleep. I need you all sharp tomorrow morning.”

Emmett packed up his things as Elle waited for him. Just as they were walking out, Callahan called her back.

“Ms. Woods, could I have a word?” he asked.

“Of course,” she said, then turned to Emmett. “I’ll catch up with you later, it’s a great night for a walk anyway.”

“Alright, see you.” Emmett wondered what Callahan could possibly want. He hoped it was to apologize to her, but that so was not Callahan’s style. No matter what it was, it would at least give him a little more time to think about whether or not he should tell Elle how he felt.

It was amazing how just over 24 hours ago, he was still in the dark about the fact that he was completely in love with his best friend, but now here he was, considering _telling_ her that. It would be insane to do so, of course, but it wouldn’t be the first risk he’d taken today, and look how that one paid off. Today, anything seemed possible, especially after the way she looked at him. The idea that she might love him - or at least _like_ him - wasn’t unbelievable. In fact, today, it even seemed plausible.

But still, there was the chance that it could ruin everything they had together. If he’d misread the situation and she didn’t feel that way about him, or god, even worse, she actually still loved Warner…it could make everything weird in a way that there was no coming back from. He couldn’t handle losing Elle over something so stupid. Though, keeping it all bottled up could _also_ backfire spectacularly. With the way he’d been responding to her over the last few days, he was genuinely concerned he’d just blurt it out or accidentally kiss her. At least if he told her intentionally, he’d have some control of the situation. And it just might lead to something even better than what they had now.

He needed to do _something_.


	9. Chapter 9

Emmett drove to her dorm, stopping only long enough to pick up some flowers, though he still didn’t have a solid plan. The little bouquet of pink daisies could work as a celebration of the day’s successes or as a potential romantic overture, and he figured he’d just kind of play it by ear based on her response. He waited by her door, ready to present the flowers to her as soon as she arrived. Finally, he saw her approach.

“There she is, intern of the year -” he began, but stopped when he saw that she had clearly been crying. She gave him a weak smile.

“Thank you, Emmett, for all you’ve done,” she said, touching his arm for just a moment before pulling away. “For…treating me decently, when no one else would.”

“Elle, what’s wrong?”

“If you’re ever in California, you should come visit me.” She turned and walked towards her door.

He moved forward to block her way and she stepped back. “Wait, what? Where are you going?” 

“Sorry I’m letting everyone down,” she said, her voice cracking as she began to cry again.

“What are you talking about? Elle, what happened?” Nothing she was saying made any sense, but there had to be some way to make it right - whatever _it_ was.

“You did your best, but obviously I was just a hopeless case. No one’s ever gonna take me seriously, I’m just a dumb blonde, right?”

“That’s bullshit and you know it.” He could barely process what was happening. This wasn’t like her, and after today had been so amazing…

“Emmett, you’re the best thing about this place, but I…” she trailed off as she stifled a sob. 

“Elle,” he said, steeling himself with a deep breath. Whatever the hell was happening, apparently this was the time. “You should know - “

“Callahan hit on me,” she said, raising her hands to stop him.

Suddenly, the world seemed to shift under his feet and he couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt so angry.  “He _what_?” 

“He kissed me, then he fired me. He made it very clear I don’t belong here,” she said, pushing past him to get in through the door. 

“He’s wrong.” He wanted to stop her, he wanted to block her path again, to put his arm out and stop her from going in, but he didn’t dare invade her space right now. “Hey, we’ll fix it. We’ll fight it.”

There _had_ to be a way to fix it, Callahan couldn’t just get away with that.

“Emmett, please,” she said, grabbing his hand and squeezing it. “There’s no reason for me to stay.”

She let go of him and shut the door before he could say anything. And even if she hadn’t, he was at a loss on how to respond. He had a million reasons for her to stay right on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn’t have said any of them now, not after she’d just been assaulted.

He should have told her earlier. He could have done it the moment he realized it, or this morning when she looked at him so, so… God, it didn’t even matter how she looked at him. What mattered was that if he had told her, she would know how much he cared, how much he _needed_ her here. If he’d been more clear, maybe she’d have been able to see that she _did_ belong here…with him. But more importantly, she belonged here because she was a brilliant lawyer in the making. She had more than earned her place.

“Please, Elle, will you open the door?” He tried the handle, but it wouldn’t budge. “We both know you’re worth _so_ much more than what that asshole thinks if you. You’re an incredible person, an incredible _lawyer_.”

He waited, desperately trying to think of something to say, _anything_ to make her understand how much she really, truly belonged here.

“Elle, if you can hear…” He sighed and pressed his forehead and hand to the door, as if he could somehow get close enough to make her notice. “You need to know how much I want you to stay, how much I _need_ you to stay.”

Still, he heard nothing from the other side of the door. He didn’t want to leave her in this state, but he had to find a way to fix this, so he called through the door one last time. “I’m going to fight this, Elle. I _will_ make it right.”

He was going to go give Callahan a piece of his mind.

 

\---

 

As Emmett walked out of the building, he thought about what he would say to Callahan. A stream of obscenities seemed like a decent option. He couldn’t believe he’d done that to Elle. He’d never thought of Callahan as someone with a great moral compass or anything, but he had assumed that somewhere underneath all that cunning there was some semblance of a decent person. Instead, Callahan was just horrible.

Once he was outside, students were milling about, but he was so blinded by anger he didn’t even notice them as anything other than obstacles to get around. It wasn’t until he heard someone yelling his name that he realized that he’d almost knocked over Vivienne in his rush to get to his car.

“Oh, sorry, Vivienne, I gotta go -”

“Emmett, wait, I need to talk to you. Were you just with Elle?” Vivienne asked, looking nervous.

This stopped him. What did she want with Elle? “Yes…”

“Is she okay?”

“What do you mean, is she okay?” Did Vivienne somehow know what happened?

She sighed. “I just saw Callahan coming onto her. She slapped him and left, and I wanted to follow, but I didn’t think she’d appreciate a visit from me, so I’ve been out here just…trying to figure out what to do.”

So she did know.  “No, she’s not okay. She’s talking about leaving, for God’s sake.”

“Leaving? Where?”

“Back to LA.”

“She can’t do that!” She looked horrified.

“I know that, but she won’t listen to anything I say. Apparently she’s determined that her looks are the only way she got this far, and that she doesn’t belong here. You’re welcome to go try and talk to her, but right now I’m going to go see Callahan and…” he trailed off, unsure of what he _actually_ was going to do.

“And get yourself fired? Or stuck with an assault charge? How is that going to help her?” 

He frowned. She had a point, but he had to do _something_. He couldn’t just sit and hope she’d change her mind,  or sit in that courtroom tomorrow with Callahan as if he hadn’t done anything wrong. “Okay, maybe you’re right. But what the hell else can I do right now?”

“I don’t know. But we can’t let that scumbag win, and we can’t let Elle go. Not for Elle’s sake, and not for the case’s sake, honestly.”

“What does the case have to do with this?”

“If Elle leaves, any headway we made with Brooke will be gone.”

An idea began to occur to him. “You know…that’s a good point. Maybe with Brooke’s help, we can get Elle to see that she _is_ needed here.”

“How would that even work? I’m sure I don’t need to remind you, Brooke is in jail right now.”

“I don’t know exactly, but one more person backing us up - even if Elle can’t actually talk to her until tomorrow at the trial - couldn’t hurt. One person’s whose entire _life_ is at stake. We just need to get her buy in on convincing Elle.”

“It’s worth a shot, I guess. But are we going to be able to get in to see her tonight? It’s way after visiting hours.”

“We’re part of her legal representation and we’re mid-trial, they have to let us see her.”

 

\---

 

When they got to the jail, Emmett prayed that he was actually right. He’d gone to see clients with Callahan after hours before, but never _without_ him.

“We’re on Brooke Wyndham’s legal team and we need to see her immediately,” he said to the guard at the front, hoping he came off more confident than he felt.

“Identification?” The guard sounded bored.

Emmett handed over both his and Vivienne’s ID cards. The guard looked at the cards, then back at them, and shrugged. “Go on through, I’ll page ‘em and let ‘em know to go and get her.”

He let out the breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. They walked back to the visitation room, silent. Soon, the guards brought Brooke in. 

“What are you guys doing here? Is something wrong?” She looked concerned, and Emmett realized that her lawyers randomly showing up in the middle of the night might seem a little worrying.

“Everything is fine,” he assured her. “I mean, everything is not fine, but don’t worry - there’s no new sneak attack evidence to worry about or anything.”

“What Emmett means to say,” Vivienne said, shooting him an annoyed glance, “is that Callahan tried to sexually assault Elle and fired her, so Elle is leaving, and we need your help to convince her to stay.”

“What the fuck?!” Brooke looked almost as angry as Emmett felt about it all.

“Did she really need to know that much…” Emmett said. He didn’t want to spread Elle’s business everywhere.

“Yes, she needed to know.”

“Jesus.” Brooke shook her head. “How can I help?”

“We just needed to make sure you were on the same page, I guess,” he said. “Like, we didn’t want to tell her ‘Brooke wants you to stay’ if you weren’t going to back it up tomorrow if we can get her to the courthouse.”

“Well, I’m behind you one hundred percent. Of course I want her to stay, she’s the only one on this team that really gives a crap about me - no offense.”

“None taken.”

“But didn’t you say Callahan fired her?”

“Yes, but…I don’t know, maybe your support will somehow make it…”

“We’re not really sure how it would go yet,” Vivienne interrupted. “Honestly, this was just the first idea that we came up with.”

“Well, can’t I just fire Callahan and have Elle represent me?”

“She’s only a student,” Vivienne said, frowning. “She’s not a lawyer yet, she can’t -”

“Actually, she can.” Emmett hadn’t considered that Brooke would be willing to do it, but there _was_ a rule that would allow it. “There’s a rule that says, more or less, a law student can act as a lawyer in court, as long as a licensed attorney supervises them. I’m licensed.”

“Why don’t we just do that?”

Vivienne looked at them both, clearly concerned. “Listen, I believe in Elle, I really do, but…Brooke, this is your life here. As a first year law student, I sure as hell wouldn’t feel comfortable being your own only representation. Are you sure you’re okay with that risk?”

“Better than having that piece of shit Callahan represent me. Plus,” she said, turning to Emmett. “You said you’d be supervising, right?”

“Yup.”

“Then it’s simple. You get Elle to the courthouse tomorrow morning, and I’ll fire that creep and have her represent me. And even if you can’t get her there, I’m gonna fire his ass. You still wanna represent me, even without Elle?” she asked Emmett.

“Oh, uh.” He was surprised by the offer. “Well, I won’t be with the law firm anymore, I’m quitting tomorrow no matter what, so as long as you’re okay with that…”

“Even better, I’ll have a lawyer with some morals. Sounds like a plan to me. You guys just go and convince Elle.”

“Yes ma’am.”

 

\---

 

As soon as they left the jail, they tried to make a game plan.

“So, how do we convince her?” Vivienne asked.

“I think telling her about Brooke wanting her on the case will be all the convincing she needs, I really do,” Emmett said. “I’m more concerned about getting her to talk to us long enough to hear it, though.”

“Aren’t you guys really close? Wouldn’t she listen to you?”

“Yeah, but she’s clearly not really ready to talk. And I don’t want to push her, I mean, after what she’s already been through tonight…”

“That makes sense. But what if she manages to leave while we’re just…what, waiting?”

“We’ve gotta talk to Paulette,” he said, cursing himself for not ever bothering to get her phone number.

“Who’s Paulette?”

“She’s Elle’s friend. There’s no way Elle would leave town without saying goodbye to her.” He hoped Elle wouldn’t leave without saying goodbye to him, but…she kind of already had said goodbye.

“So how do we get ahold of her?”

“I…don’t know. She works at a salon, maybe they’re still open?”

Vivienne frowned. “Is it the Hair Affair? I know I’ve seen Elle there.”

“Yeah, that’s it.”

“They are definitely closed at -” She looked at her watch. “Nine o’clock.”

“Shit.”

“Well, our best bet is to send whatever messages we can to Elle - stop by, call, text, email - explaining Brooke’s idea. Just like, once, not banging on her door until she opens up or anything.  And then if we don’t hear anything, tomorrow morning you can show up at the Hair Affair. Hopefully Elle will come by, or her friend will at least have some information.”

Emmett thought about it for a moment. “Actually, maybe you should be the one to go there.”

“Why me? Elle can barely stand me.”

“I think it’s more the other way around,” he said, giving her a pointed look. Vivienne hadn’t exactly shown Elle much kindness in the past.

She looked sheepish. “So what’s to make Elle care what _I_ have to say?”

“If you tell Elle that she deserves to be here as much as anyone else, it’ll mean a lot more than if it comes from her friends. Maybe she’ll believe it from you.”

“I guess I can try.” 

“And I guess I’ll go back to Elle’s and try to talk to her, one more time.”

 

\---

 

By the end of the night, Emmett had tried to reach her in every way he could think of, but never got any response. If he hadn’t seen the light on from under her dorm room door when he’d come by, he would’ve worried that she’d _already_ left town. He hated to just…sit at home and try to sleep, but any more attempts to reach her would be borderline stalking, and that was the last thing she needed right now. All he could do now was wait for the morning.

Sleep wasn’t about to happen, though, so he focused instead on looking into what legal options they might have for holding Callahan accountable. Vivienne had been right to stop him from going and making everything worse by directly confronting him, but even if their plan with Brooke did work out, something else had to be done. He couldn’t just get away with it. Fortunately, obsessive legal research was something he had more than enough practice at.


	10. Chapter 10

Emmett woke up the next morning, slumped over his laptop. He immediately went to check his phone, but had no missed calls or texts. After plugging in his computer to bring it back to life, he was dismayed to see no emails either. He really thought she would’ve responded to _something_ by now.

He stood up, ignoring the pain in his neck from his awkward sleeping position, and went to get ready. As panicked as he felt about not hearing from Elle, he’d promised Brooke to represent her one way or another. He had to be ready.

The suit wasn’t hard to manage, but one look at the hair products Elle had left behind the day before was daunting. There was no way he’d be able to do whatever she had done, but he could at least try. He smiled as he imagined her response to him attempting to do his own hair. If there was any justice in the world, he’d be able to tell her about it soon.

Just as he was about to leave his apartment, his phone went off. It was a text from Vivienne. He took a deep breath before opening it, trying to prepare himself for bad news.

**Success! See you at the courthouse!**

He was so relieved he could’ve cried, but instead settled on rushing out the door to meet them.

 

\---

 

Vivienne and Elle had yet to arrive by the time Emmett got there, but a second look at his phone reassured him. This time, Elle had texted him.

**See u soon!**

**Sorry 4 ignoring u.**

**Thank u <3**

He smiled as he looked at the messages and started to reply, but Callahan’s voice immediately made him freeze. 

“Somebody looks cheerful this morning,” Callahan said, giving Emmett a withering glance.

“And somebody looks a little stressed. Rough night?” Emmett asked, barely restraining himself. Any moment, Elle would arrive, and Brooke would fire his sorry ass. That was enough - for now, at least. 

Callahan looked at him warily, but before he could reply, Emmett turned to Brooke. “Mrs. Wyndham, I think things are going to go our way today.”

Brooke smiled as she got his meaning. 

As if on cue, Elle walked into the courtroom. She was dressed head to toe in bright pink and was utterly _radiating_ confidence. Emmett had never seen her look so determined and he couldn’t help but grin. Behind her, three very confused looking women and an older couple walked in. If he was recognizing them correctly, these were Elle’s sorority sisters and her parents. How they managed to show up today of all days, he didn’t know, but he was thrilled to see more people there to support her. 

“Miss Woods, what are you doing here?” Callahan asked.

“Oh, I’m working,” Elle replied coolly, but with a fire behind her eyes.

Brooke, who had apparently been waiting for the right moment, turned to Callahan and smiled. “Oh, that reminds me. Mr. Callahan, you’re fired.”

“Excuse me?” Callahan said, professionalism slipping as he gaped at her.

“I said, you’re _fired_. I’ve hired Elle instead.”

“That’s absurd!” he scoffed. “Elle’s just a law student, she can’t represent you.”

“Actually, she can.” Emmett took his cue and turned to the judge. “May I approach, your honor?”

“Granted.”

He walked to the bench, law book in hand. “Rule 3:03 of the Supreme Judicial Court states that a law student, in this case Ms. Elle Woods, may represent a defendant in a criminal proceeding.”

“Only if she has a licensed attorney to supervise and without me, she does not,” Callahan said smugly. 

“Yes she does. I’m licensed, your honor. I’ll gladly supervise.”

“Like hell you will. You work for me, remember?”

Emmett turned to him and smiled.

“No, I work for myself. And I don’t have to hit on interns, _professor_.” 

“Enjoy prison, Mrs. Wyndham,” Callahan scoffed as he walked by her.

“Okay, bye,” Brooke said, rolling her eyes.

Emmett walked back to the defendant’s table, where Elle was standing and smiling at him.

“Thank you, Emmett,” she said.

He leaned in close as he handed her the case file. “Did you think I was actually gonna let you get away?” 

Her eyes lit up and she gave him a look that made him wish he could just tell her everything, right then and there. Unfortunately, there was a trial to worry about, so instead of baring his heart, he smiled and hoped she could read between the lines.

 

\---

 

“Ms. Woods?” the judge said, bringing attention to Elle. “Any day now, you may proceed. Call your first witness.”

“We bring Chutney Wyndham to the stand,” Elle said, and Emmett could see how nervous she was as the witness took her seat. “Ms. Wyndham, what was your relationship to the deceased?”

“He was my father.”

“Did you actually see his murder take place?”

“No…I was in the shower. But when I got out, Brooke was standing over my father’s body, _drenched_ in his _blood_.”

“Oh boy, we’re screwed,” Warner muttered, but not quietly enough. Elle looked back in panic.

“Don’t listen to him, Elle. You’re fine. Go ahead,” Emmett encouraged her, shooting Warner a look to _shut up_.

“Did you see Mrs. Wyndham holding a gun?”

“No, she’d stashed it by then.”

Emmett stood up. “Move to strike that from the record, your honor, it’s speculation.”

“So stricken,” the judge said. 

Elle looked back at Emmett and smiled weakly. 

“Ms. Wyndham…” she said, turning back to the witness. “On the day your father was killed, did you see anyone suspicious hanging around?”

“Suspiciously hanging around my shower?”

“No, before that,” she said, nervousness still in her voice. Emmett wished they had had the time to do some confidence boosting affirmations with her earlier, the way she’d done for him. He wasn’t sure exactly where she was going, but he trusted that she could figure this out if she could just stay calm.

“I wasn’t home,” Ms. Wyndham said, looking bored.

“And what did you do earlier that day?”

“I got up, got a latte, went to the gym, got a perm, and came home.” Elle had been pacing as she questioned her, but seemed to freeze.

“Where you took a _shower_?”

“Yes. I was _in. the. shower_ ,” she said, emphasizing each word condescendingly.

Emmett grimaced as nervous chatter broke out in the courtroom. He could basically _feel_ the jury starting to judge Elle, and everyone knew that juries were, unfortunately, easily swayed by whether or not they liked a lawyer. But one look at her face calmed his fears. All of her hesitance seemed to have disappeared. 

“Now, Ms. Wyndham, you claim that on the day of the murder, you got a perm. Was this your first perm?” she asked brightly.

“No.”

“How many perms would you say you’ve had?”

“I don’t know, two a year since like junior high. You do the math.”

“You know, a girl in my sorority, Tracy Marcinko, got a perm once. We all tried to talk her out of it, curls weren’t a good look for her. She didn’t have your bone structure,” she said, smiling at Ms. Wyndham before turning back towards the jury. “But thankfully, that same day, she entered the Beta Delta Pi wet t-shirt contest, where she was completely hosed down from head to toe.”

The prosecutor stood up, clearly annoyed. “Objection! Why is this relevant?”

“I have a point, I promise,” Elle said. Emmett trusted her, but was a little worried that the judge wouldn’t.

“Then make it,” the judge said.

“Yes, ma’am. Chutney, why is it that Tracy Marcinko’s curls were ruined when she got hosed down?”

“Because they got wet?” She looked at Elle like she was crazy.

“Exactly. Because isn’t it the first cardinal rule of perm maintenance that you’re forbidden to wet your hair for at least 24 hours after getting a perm at the risk of deactivating the ammonium thioglycolate?”

“Yes…” Miss Wyndham said, panic starting to show on her face. 

“And wouldn’t somebody who’s had, say, thirty perms before in their life be well aware of this rule? And if in fact you weren’t washing your hair, as I suspect you weren’t because your curls are still intact, wouldn’t you have heard the gunshot? And if in fact you had heard the gunshot, Brooke Wyndham wouldn’t have had time to hide the gun before you got downstairs, which would mean you would have had to find Mrs. Wyndham with a gun in her hand to make your story plausible. Isn’t that right?”

_Holy crap_ , she did it. Emmett could do little more than gape at her - he knew she was capable, but that level of fierceness was something else.

“She’s my age!” Chutney yelled, bursting into tears. “Did she tell you that? How would you feel if your father married someone who was your age?”

“You, however, had time to hide the gun after you shot your father, didn’t you Chutney?” Elle said.

“I didn’t mean to shoot him!” She stood up and pointed at Brooke. “I thought it was _you_ walking through the door!”

Her face fell as she realized what she had said.

“Oh my god,” Elle said, turning back to Emmett with wide eyes.

The courtroom burst into noise, a chorus of “oh my god” and “holy shit.” Emmett beamed at Elle, so proud of her he could burst.

Soon, the judge managed to call them back to order. 

“Bailiff, take the witness into custody, where she will be charged for the murder of Heyworth Wyndham,” she said, shaking her head. “In the matter of the state versus Brooke Wyndham, this case is dismissed. Mrs. Wyndham, you are free to go.”

The room immediately went back into chaos, everyone rushing towards Elle. Between her family, friends, the other interns, and Brooke, there was barely an inch of space left around her. He could handle waiting, though. She deserved every bit of praise that was coming her way right now. 

But it only took a moment before she broke free of the crowd and ran to him. She wrapped her arms around him and he lifted her in a hug. As he set her back down, her hands lingered on his neck and she looked up at him, smiling warmly. If they hadn’t been in a courtroom full of people, he was pretty certain he would have kissed her. Instead, he pulled back ever so slightly, and noticed Warner.

“I think someone needs to talk to you,” he said, gesturing behind her. She looked back, but quickly turned her attention back to him, a questioning look on her face. 

Emmett hadn’t quite been able to bring himself to let go of her yet, but he took a step back and smiled at her. After everything that had gone down recently, he felt pretty confident that Elle wouldn’t take Warner back (if that was what Warner was trying for, which seemed likely, given the lack of ring on Vivienne’s finger today). In fact, he _almost_ felt confident that not only was Elle over Warner entirely, but that she reciprocated his own feelings - at least in part. There were too many moments for him to write off as his own wishful thinking. 

“It’s okay. I’m…gonna see you later,” he said. The smile she gave him before he turned away told him he was right.


	11. Chapter 11

As soon as he walked out of the courthouse, he was surrounded by a media circus. Reporters lined the steps, shoving their microphones at Brooke, Callahan - anyone that had anything remotely to do with the case. Once they noticed him, shouts of “Mr. Forrest! How did you know you could trust Ms. Woods?” and “Did you coach her?” and similarly absurd questions filled the air. He didn’t even know how they knew his name, let alone his level of involvement. Thankfully, he was spared from actually having to answer, as Elle soon walked out the door.

Everyone else forgotten, the reporters flocked to her. While he was completely unprepared for the media storm, she seemed like she’d been handling such things all of her life. She was charming, kind, and professional in all of her answers, with questions that ranged from her professional experience to her knowledge of haircare. He had every intention of waiting for her to finish, but soon Paulette found him and the plans changed.

“Emmett, come on, we’ve got a surprise party planned for Elle at the Hair Affair. I’m gonna work on getting her there, but you should head on over. I know she wants you there,” Paulette said, winking before walking away.

He laughed. If anything _did_ happen between him and Elle, he was pretty sure they’d at least have the support of Paulette. 

 

\---

 

Once at the party, he started to lose hope of getting to talk to her at all. While only a few of her sorority sisters were at the trial, he was fairly certain at _least_ twenty more were at the party. And then there were her parents, as well as just about everyone in her year at Harvard.

About thirty minutes after he got there, Elle and Paulette finally walked through the door. A loud mix of shouts filled the room, some yelling “surprise,” some “congratulations, “ and some simply yelling “Elle.” As soon as she made it all the way into the room, she found Emmett with her eyes and smiled, but was quickly swept away by her friends from the trial. This happened at least three more times before they finally managed to get anywhere near each other. When they did, Elle had her parents in tow.

“Emmett!” she said, grinning at him. “I want you to meet my parents. Mom, Daddy, this is my friend Emmett.”

“How do you do, Emmett?” Mr. Woods said, shaking his hand. 

“We’ve heard _so_ much about you,” Mrs. Woods said, her eyes bright with a mischievous look so similar to her daughter’s.

“Oh, well, you can’t believe everything she said, I’m not _really_ a slave driver…”

Elle punched his shoulder lightly and laughed. “Yes, you are, but that’s okay. Anyway, I only told them the good stuff, I promise.”

“She was very complimentary to you,” Mrs. Woods said. “Thank you for helping our daughter so much.”

“It was my pleasure,” he said, smiling.

“Elle, come here, you’ve got to see this!” A voice rang out from the throng of people.

“Just a minute!” she called back, before turning to Emmett. “We’ll talk soon, right?”

“Of course.”

With an apologetic smile at him, Elle and her parents went in the direction of whoever had called for her, and Emmett told himself it was better to wait. It wouldn’t be fair to dump “Hey, by the way, I love you?” on her when there was so much going on. 

By the end of the night, he had met a handful more of her friends - the girls at the trial were Margot, Pilar, and Serena, Elle’s “BDNF’s” (Best Delta Nus Forever) - but didn’t get another chance to really talk to her beyond introductions. When it became apparent that the Delta Nus were capable of carrying on a party for far, far longer than he could handle, he decided to text her.

**I think im gonna head home. I know youre busy.**

**:( Sorry we didnt get to hang out. Didnt know it was possible to miss u so much while in the same room as u. :( :(**

His heart definitely started beating a little faster and god, he wished he could get some alone time with her.

**I miss you too. See you tomorrow?**

**Cant. My parents have the entire day planned for us before they head home friday morning. Can we do friday?? :( :( :(**

**Friday sounds good.**

**< 3**

He sighed. An entire additional day before he’d get the chance to talk to her. 

 

\---

 

Emmett spent the next day trying to think of the best way to tell Elle how he felt and, well, job searching. There wasn’t a single part of him that regretted quitting Callahan’s firm, of course, but the idea of being unemployed was more than a little frightening. Not quite as frightening as the prospect of his upcoming conversation with Elle, though.

Yesterday, he felt almost certain that she felt the same way about him. The way she looked at him, the way she talked to him, it all seemed like proof that she at least _liked_ him that way, even it wasn’t love. Today, though? Doubt nagged at him. He still didn’t actually know how her conversation with Warner had gone. Sure, he had happily noticed no new ring on her left finger, but that didn’t necessarily mean anything. Maybe Warner hadn’t proposed, but maybe they _had_ gotten back together. Maybe he _did_ propose and Elle was just keeping it a secret. But, no. There was no way. Elle had come so far, there was _no way_ she’d settle for Warner anymore. Whether or not she cared for Emmett romantically, he had to have confidence that she’d rejected Warner.

He still wasn’t sure exactly _how_ he was going to tell Elle about his feelings. He could go for a grand romantic gesture, take her to a nice restaurant, and…and what? This was so not his forte. He’d seen enough public proposals to know what people did for that kind of thing, but this wasn’t a proposal. This was just…telling her that he loved her? He wasn’t even positive he’d go that far, he didn’t want to come on too strong. 

Unfortunately, he couldn’t just ask her out. “Hey, wanna go get some dinner with me tonight?” was the kind of thing they said every single day. Maybe if he laid it out really specifically, like, “Elle, will you go on a date with me?” That still seemed ridiculous, though. Telling her he loved her was too much, just asking her out wasn’t anywhere near enough. She deserved to know more, to know just how incredible she was and that he utterly adored her. That she was the best thing to happen to him in ages, that he was a better person _because_ of her, that she was everything he never knew he wanted, but now knew he _needed_. Because _that_ wouldn’t be coming on too strong. 

As he was spinning circles in his thinking, she texted him.

**Parents r taking me on vineyard tour. So boring. Id rather be studying with u. What time r u coming over tomorrow?**

He smiled, happy to know she was thinking about him too, even if it was in the context of studying.

**Whenever is good for you. :)**

**U used a smiley!!! :O So proud!! How about 10? Should be back from airport by then.**

**K. Want me to pick up coffee?**

**Yesss!!**

**See you then :)**

**;)**

Well, now he could add confusion over how to interpret that winky face to his list of things to overthink about for the rest of the day.

 

\---

 

Somehow, Emmett survived until the next morning, despite being completely unable to come up with a way to tell her. He would just have to hope the words came when they needed to. He woke up far earlier than he needed to and spent an hour looking at his clothes, wishing he had bought a couple other new things when Elle took him shopping. He wasn’t about to wear a suit just to go hang out with her at her dorm, but…it seemed like he should wear _something_ a little nicer. If he wasn’t so nervous about it, it’d be hilarious to him that he was stressing out about what to _wear_. Eventually, he gave up and went with comfort: a worn Captain America t-shirt and blue jeans. 

He swung by Starbucks on his way to the dorm, picking up two of her favorite drink: a non-fat raspberry mocha, extra sweet. The first time she dragged him along to get coffee there, he was overwhelmed by the choices - he grew up a purely milk and coffee kind of guy - and had her order for him. She started with something simple for him, some kind of latte, but he ended up trying hers and damn if it wasn’t _good_. It was a ridiculously self-indulgent kind of drink, but if he was going to spend almost $5 on a cup of coffee, it _should_ be. And today seemed like the kind of day for such indulgence.

When he got to her dorm, he reached out to knock, but she opened the door before he could even make contact.

“Emmett!” She smiled at him so brightly that it almost took his breath away.

“Hey, Elle,” he said, trying to keep some composure as he walked into the room, setting the drinks down. 

She closed the door behind him, then flopped down onto her bed. “I am so _tired_.”

“Been a little busy, I suppose?” he asked as he sat down at the desk.

“Busy doesn’t even cover it. It’s been completely unreal. Between winning the case, Warner _proposing_ ,” she said, giving him a sideways glance before continuing, “reporters constantly calling me, and trying to spend time with my Delta Nu girls _and_ my parents…it’s a lot.”

“You kinda just…skimmed right past an interesting point there, Elle,” he said, trying to keep his voice neutral. “Warner proposed?”

“Oh, yeah,” she said, so casually you’d have no idea that it was the very thing she dreamed about not six months earlier. “Seems that Vivienne dumped his ass. I told him thank you, but no.”

Emmett grinned. “I’m…relieved to hear that.”

“Relieved?” She sat up and looked at him.

“Um, yes, I mean, you deserve so much better than him. I’m just glad you can recognize that.” He could kick himself for chickening out when the perfect opportunity to broach the subject was right there, but he just…couldn’t get himself to say it. He handed her one of the cups. “Coffee?”

“Yeah, I do deserve better,” she said, smiling as she took her drink from him, though there seemed to be something lingering underneath that smile. Disappointment, maybe? “That girl that swooned over him seems like me from a lifetime ago, not just a few months ago. Like, this drink? He used to give me crap about ordering drinks that weren’t so-called _real_ coffee. Obviously, there’s so much more than that that was wrong with our relationship, I just…I can’t believe I ever cared about what he thought of me.”

“He certainly has shown poor judgment,” he said, taking a sip of his own drink. “This is an excellent cup of _real_ coffee, thank you very much. And, you know, he let you go, so obviously he’s an idiot.”

She grinned at him. “You got the same thing?”

“Duh, it’s delicious.” He took a deep breath, trying to find a way to make the words come out. He couldn’t just sit here and talk about coffee. “Listen, Elle, I - ”

“Come sit by me?” she asked, interrupting him.

“Uh, okay.” He wasn’t sure if this would be more or less difficult that way, but he wasn’t about to say no. He walked over to her bed and sat down. The air felt charged around them and he decided, yup, it was gonna be _more_ difficult.

“Emmett,” she said, turning her body to face him. She looked nervous, uncertain. 

“Yes…?” Every inch of him wanted to just lean forward and kiss her. She bit her lip, but still didn’t say anything, making it that much harder for him to resist her. Without really thinking about it, he asked her, “Can I kiss you?”

He hadn’t meant to say it and immediately scooted away as he registered the surprise on her face, but before he knew it, she had closed the gap between them and her lips were on his. The kiss was brief, lasting only a few seconds, but it fully rocked his world.

She pulled back and smiled shyly. “Sorry, I’ve just…thought a lot about doing that.”

“Y-you have?” he asked, unable to think straight.

“I have.” He could see a blush start to creep up on her cheeks. “It may have taken me an embarrassingly long time to realize it, I was so focused on Warner, but…he’s not the one I want. Not even close.”

Emmett was certain he was blushing just as much, if not more, than her, but he was too damn happy to care. “Oh?”

“Nah. Not when the best guy in the world is sitting right in front of me, turning a delightful shade of crimson.” She grinned at him. “Now, to actually answer your question, yes, you may.”

He laughed, pulling her into another kiss. This time, it wasn’t so brief. It wasn’t exactly the kind of confession he had planned, but he wasn’t complaining. Plus, he had a feeling he’d have every day for the rest of their lives to tell her just how amazing he thought she was.


	12. Chapter 12

**Two Years Later**

For the first time in their relationship, Emmett thanked his lucky stars that the end of the semester meant that Elle was way too busy to spend much time together. As it was, there had been already been too many close calls - he saw her standing outside of the jewelry store in which he was ring shopping, she walked in on him as he was making the dinner reservation, and she had nearly found the ring box when she opened his dresser to borrow a pair of socks. He didn’t think his proposal was going to be entirely unexpected - they’d definitely talked about marriage before - but he didn’t want her to know exactly when it was coming. _Some_ level of surprise would be nice.

Thankfully, he’d somehow managed to keep it a secret, and it was finally the big day. He had everything planned out perfectly: the morning would be entirely focused on Elle’s graduation, of course. Afterwards, they’d go to the party Paulette was throwing in her honor and celebrate with her friends. Before he left the party, he’d secretly get the ring back from Paulette, who had graciously agreed to hide it after the sock drawer incident. Then, he and Elle would go to dinner, where he’d propose - complete with romantic violin, because it just seemed like the right touch. He had considered doing the whole “hide the ring in the dessert” style thing, but given Elle’s history with expecting a restaurant proposal and instead getting a restaurant breakup, he didn’t wanna put it off or have _any_ room for ambiguity. No need to wait for dessert when he could just do it the old fashioned way, down on one knee. All he had to do to be successful with his plan now was just to keep his cool until then.

“Emmett!” Elle called from the bedroom, where she was changing into her clothes for graduation. “Can you come here and zip me up?”

As he entered, she looked somewhat frazzled. Emotionally, at least - physically, other than the back of dress being unzipped still, she was completely put together. He knew it took time to tame her hair into that level of perfection, but even when it was unstyled, it was fantastic. If they had kids someday, he sure hoped they’d inherit her hair rather than his.

He walked over to her and zipped up the dress, a summery, pink number. 

“Thanks,” she said, turning around and kissing him quickly.

“No problem,” he said, grinning. “Are you doing alright? You seem a little…stressed, maybe?”

“Oh, do I?” She bit her lip. “I’m just, uh, nervous about my speech I guess.”

“Oh please, you’ve got no reason to be nervous. You’ve practiced it a hundred times, everyone loves you too much to even care if you _did_ mess up, and it’s a damn good speech. Very inspiring.”

She rolled her eyes. “You have to say that, you’re my boyfriend.”

“And because I’m your boyfriend that loves you and wants you to do well, I’d be honest if I thought your speech needed some improvement. You’ve got this.”

“I love you.” She smiled up at him.

“And I love you.”

He kissed her and everything else seemed to melt away. The graduation, the upcoming speech, the upcoming proposal...none of it mattered in that moment. He nearly messed up her perfectly coiffed hair as the kiss deepened, but fortunately her cell phone went off at that moment. She pulled back, both of them slightly flustered - he loved that two years in, they still reacted to each other that way - and she answered the phone.

“Hi Mom! Yes, I’m ready, everything is fine,” she said, rolling her eyes and smiling at Emmett. “We’re heading over soon.”

 

\---

 

The majority of the commencement ceremony was as boring and uneventful as one would expect. There were speakers of questionable quality, names were called, and slowly the audience began to dwindle as soon as whoever they had come for had walked. Usually, the class valedictorian spoke _before_ the graduates walked, but Elle told Emmett that her class had decided to reorder things a little bit. So, other than cheering for her and a few other students he knew well, he just waited for her big speech. She walked to the podium, looking almost perfectly confident - he doubted anyone that didn’t know her well would be able to see that she was still a little nervous.

Once she got going, though, even that last little bit of nervousness seemed to disappear. Public speaking, particularly the kind that was aimed at building up others (which her speech, of course, was), was a definite gift of hers. She radiated authority, confidence, and kindness and just had that something about her that made people pay attention. Even the people who had been in the midst of leaving seemed to stop and watch. He had heard the speech plenty of times over the last few days, so much so that he found himself mouthing the words along with her. But, once everyone stood to applaud, she went off book.

“If you could all bear with me for just another few moments…” she said, nerves reappearing on her face. She walked over towards Emmett and took his hand, pulling him into the center aisle. Before he could even begin to process what was happening, she dropped to one knee and pulled out a ring. “Emmett Forrest, would you please make me the happiest woman on Earth?” 

“Oh my god,” was all he was capable of saying at that moment, he was so shocked. She grinned at him and raised her eyebrows questioningly. “Oh, oh my god, yes!”

She put the ring - a simple band that fit him perfectly, despite the fact he had never worn a ring for Elle to compare it to - on his finger and stood up. He wrapped his arms around her and lifted her, overjoyed. They kissed briefly, before turning back to the crowd around them. He knew he was blushing, but he didn’t care. Let the whole world see that he loved Elle Woods and, amazingly, she loved him.

As soon as Emmett had taken a step away from Elle, Paulette had taken his place and hugged her tightly. But, while doing so, she held out a ring box - the one he had given her for safe keeping - and gestured for him to take it before she let go of Elle. He took it and laughed, wondering how long Paulette had kept the secret that they had both planned to propose today. He stowed the box in his pocket. Just because Elle had managed to propose to him first didn’t mean that he had to waste _all_ of his preparation.

 

\---

 

Once they had gotten through all of the congratulations and goodbyes at the graduation itself, they went back to Emmett’s apartment so he could change (which was basically Elle’s apartment, as well, but the official move-in technically wasn’t until next week). 

“Are you totally sure you don’t want to wear the suit all day?” she asked, teasingly. “I mean, I want my _fiancé_ to look good.”

“Well, I think your _fiancé_ ,” he started, unable to stop himself from grinning at the word, “would look a little silly wearing a full suit while at a backyard barbecue at Paulette and Kyle’s place. Unfortunately, I just don’t rock that easily convertible casual yet classy summer dress you’ve got going on, so change I must.”

She looked at him thoughtfully. “Honestly, I think you _could_ rock it, but yeah, it’s not _quite_ your style.”

He laughed. “You’re the fashion expert, I’ll take your word for it.”

“Now, hurry up, we’re gonna be late to Paulette’s,” she said, turning towards the mirror and adjusting her hair.

“You know, Elle…” He had planned on waiting until dinner at the restaurant tonight and just going through with his original proposal, because why not? But suddenly, this seemed like the right moment. He got down on one knee.

“What are you doing, silly?” She turned back towards him, confused.

“Just ‘cause you beat me to it doesn’t mean I can’t propose too,” he said as he pulled the ring box out of his pocket. 

Her eyes lit up as they focused in on the ring. “Wait, do you mean - ”

“That I was going to propose today too? Yes, that’s what I mean.”

She laughed and reached for the ring, but he moved it away. “Now hold on a moment, I’ve got a whole speech here for you.”

“Oh, okay, sorry, continue,” she said, grinning.

“Elle Woods.” He suddenly felt strangely nervous. This was a pretty low stakes proposal, given that they were already engaged, but he still wanted to get it right. “Almost three years ago, you came into my life like a bright pink tornado, and I haven’t been the same since. I knew that there was something special about you, but I had no way of knowing just what an impact you’d have on me personally, or how much I’d grow to respect and love you. You have never once failed to impress me. You’re so kind, when you had every good reason to be a bitter jerk, you _still_ responded with kindness. And you’re determined and optimistic and hardworking and gorgeous and so smart and…you are the best woman out there, and I’ll never understand how I got to be the one you chose. I love you, Elle. Will you marry me?”

Her silliness from earlier gone, she nodded, tears in her eyes as he slipped the ring around her finger. Before the could get up, though, she was down on her knees as well, kissing him hard. 

This kiss was not interrupted by time constraints or ringing phones, only Elle briefly pulling away from him to say, “We’re gonna have to talk about that ‘how you got to be the one I chose’ thing, because there should be no question about why I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

“Okay,” he agreed, before pulling her close again.

As it turned out, they didn’t make it to Paulette’s _or_ the restaurant that day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find me on tumblr at either [cleophila](http://cleophila.tumblr.com) or [amaliabalash](http://amaliabalash.tumblr.com), depending which url I'm using at the moment.


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